Crab Nebula (M1 in Taurus). M1, the famous supernova remnant,is approximately 6300 light years distant from Earth. The supernova was reported in 1054 by Chinese astronomers and was so bright it could be seen in the daytime for several months. The exploding star that created it is now a pulsar, a neutron star that rotates 30 times per second and emits radio, optical, and X-ray pulses. The blue light is said to be due to synchrotron radiation. The nebula is approximately 6 x 4 arcmin in dimensions but bright enough to be detected in relatively small telescopes and is expanding at about 1000 miles per second. Field of view in this image is approximately 15 x 19 arc min.