M1 The Crab Nebula

On July 4, in the year 1054, chinese astronomers recorded what they called a "guest star" in the constellation of Taurus, the Bull. A star never seen before suddenly became brighter than any star in the night sky. On the other side of the world, in the American Southwest, was there a high culture which was rich in astronomy tradition. That also witnessed this brilliant new star. We have found charcoal fire and we know from carbon 14 dating that people lived in the 11th century they were Anasazi, and they were the ancedents of the Hopi of today. And we know that they had been living under an overhanging ledge in New Mexico. One of them seems to have drawn a picture of the star on the cliff where itīs protected from weather. He or she drew a picture relative to the cresent moon would have been just as was depicted. There is also handprint which is perhaps the artist signature weīll never know. The explosion was visible on Earth whith the naked eye for three months it was easily visible in broad daylight, and so bright that you could read by it at night. The star started to fade after 23 days. These explosion are called Supernovaes. Itīs called the Crab Supernova, because an astronomer centuries later was unaccountably reminded of a crab when looking at the explosion remnant through his telescope. The star in the middle is called neutron star. The supernova ejected most of itīs matter out in space. Remaining is a core of hot neutrons, bound together by a nuclear forces. Single massive atomic nucleus with an atomic weight about 1 with fifty-six zeroes. A sun only thirty kilometers across; a tiny, shrunken, dense, withered stellar fragment, a rapidly rotating neutron star. It spins thirty times per second. The Crab Nebula is approximately 6500 l.y. away. Itīs also known as M1 or NGC 1952 and as the radio source Taurus A. It reached the maximum appearant magnitude of -6. In telescopes it appears as an elliptical nebulosity of 8th magnitude. Optically the nebula has two components: an outer region of reddish, twisted filaments of hydrogen gas; and an inner whitish core that shows no special features. The expansion velocity of the outer filaments is about 1000 km/s. There is evidence that the expansion is accelarating. driven by the radiation from the pulsar. M1 can be glimpsed with powerful binoculars, close to the third magnitude Alheka. A telescope shows its form but photography is needed to bring out its intricate structure. It is expanding and inside is the neutron star or pulsar. The pulsar can be record as faint, flickering object. It is also the one of the few pulsar to be optically indentified.

       M Number   NGC   Const   Mag     RA       dec       Type
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            M1       1952  Taurus   10   05h 34.5m  +22° 01ī Supernova
                          The Bull                            Remnant