Crab Nebula
Where is the Crab Nebula?
Look south, about 60° up at 05:17 in Taurus. It rises at 21:31 and climbs through the night.
- Rises
- 21:31
- Highest
- 05:37
- Sets
- 13:46
- Best after dark
- 05:17 · 60°
Can I see the Crab Nebula tonight?
From London tonight, the Crab Nebula is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest just before dawn, around 05:17, in the south at 60°.
At magnitude 8.4, with its light spread out, it needs a telescope and a dark sky.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does the Crab Nebula look like?
Eyes
Not visible.
Binoculars
Under dark skies, a tiny, faint patch.
Telescope
A faint, oval gray glow. Larger telescopes under dark skies show a mottled texture. The filaments in photos are not visible by eye.
About the Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula is the remains of a star that exploded as a supernova in the year 1054. Astronomers in China recorded a “guest star” bright enough to see in daylight for several weeks.
The cloud of debris is still expanding at over 1,000 km per second. At its center is the Crab Pulsar, a city-sized neutron star spinning about 30 times per second, which powers the nebula’s glow.
The nebula is about 6,500 light-years away. It was the first object in Charles Messier’s catalog.
The Crab was first spotted by the English astronomer John Bevis in 1731. Charles Messier found it independently in 1758 while searching for the return of Halley’s Comet, and it prompted him to start his list of objects that could be confused with comets.
Its name comes from a sketch made by Lord Rosse in 1844. The nebula is about 11 light-years across and still growing.
Nearby in the sky
Questions
When did the Crab supernova happen?
Can I see the Crab Pulsar?
Sources: OpenNGC (CC BY-SA 4.0); star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences