The Crab Nebula

The Crab Nebula is the leftover cloud from a star that exploded. This kind of explosion is called a supernova. People on Earth saw the explosion in the year 1054. Today, the Crab Nebula is one of the most studied things in space.

A Star That Exploded

About a thousand years ago, a huge star ran out of fuel and blew up. The explosion was so bright that people could see it during the day for weeks. Chinese astronomers wrote about it in their records. What is left is a big cloud of glowing gas. The cloud is still spreading out into space.

A Spinning Star in the Middle

In the center of the Crab Nebula is a tiny spinning star called a pulsar. This pulsar spins 30 times every second. It sends out beams of energy like a lighthouse. The Crab Pulsar is very small, only about 12 miles across. But it is heavier than our Sun.

Fun Facts

• The Crab Nebula is about 6,500 light-years away from Earth.
• It got its name because an astronomer in the 1840s thought it looked like a crab.
• The nebula is still growing about 930 miles per second.

Did You Know?

The Crab Nebula was the first object on a famous list of space objects made by Charles Messier in 1758.