The Crab Nebula, shown here as it is today, is the remnant of a supernova which was seen in the year 1054 AD and remained visible to the naked eye for about a year.
(Credit: NASA)
When a star explodes, it leaves an expanding cloud of residue called a SuperNova Remnant (SNR). The Crab Nebula in the constellation of Taurus and shown in the photo to the left is a good example of a supernova. When it became visible to Earth, the supernova could be seen in the daytime in 1054 for a number of weeks. For galaxies like our own Milky Way every 25-30 years, on average, a star should blow up creating a nova—big stars create supernovas. One must ask how far out does the cloud of the Crab Nebula reach and how long did it take for the cloud to reach the limits we see today? Read the rest of this entry »
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