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38. Messier 1, Crab Nebula (SN 1054)
Notes: At less than a square arcminute of sky area, M1 is tough for the 80 mm scope. Still, a lot of structure shows up in that bit of the frame. More than seems possible. We see that Wikipedia puts a very large range of error on the distance to M1. How is it that such a relatively close and well defined object presents such a difficult problem of measurement? M1 formed as a supernova in 1054. At its center lies a pulsating neutron star that spins at 30 revolutions per second and gives off a wide spectrum of radiation from gamma rays to radio waves. It is possible, but by no means certain, that the star that we see (after zooming in) near the center of this image is that star. Zoom in/out with ⌘↑(+/-) (Mac), ctrl (+/-) (PC).