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| Description | NGC | Magnitude | Right Ascension | Declination |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supernova Remnant in Taurus | 1952 | 0.4 | 5 hours 31 minutes | 21 degrees 59 Minutes |
On July 5, 1054, Chinese skygazers saw a bright star suddenly appear in the constellation of Taurus. It was also seen by skygazers in the American Southwest and their Moslem counterparts. The backward area of developing Europe left no record of the event.
The first item on Messier's list is the remnants of this suddenly appearing supernova. When the fuel of a large star has been completely spent, the star explodes and becomes a supernova. For a brief period, a supernova’s brightness increases by a factor of over 100,0000,000 to 1,000,000,000 (one billion) and can equal the brightness of the entire galaxy.
A star going supernova is a rare event and most supernovas have been found in other galaxies. The last one from within our own galaxy took place in 1572, unfortunately just before the invention of the telescope. A supernova is bright enough to be seen during the day and skygazers have been eagerly waiting for another one for the last three or four centuries.
Through binoculars, the Crab Nebula appears as a white smudge. To be perfectly fair, through binoculars almost every nebula appears as a white smudge. M1 is now a cloud of gas expanding at 1,000 miles a second, located about 6,000 light years from us. It has a greenish color although in at least one photograph it appears slightly reddish. You might be able to see a slight haze around the bright sections of M1. Some observers have on very good nights detected streaks running through it.
The Crab Nebula can easily be found near the horn of Taurus, zeta Tauri.