M1 (NGC 1952), the Crab Nebula
Sketch by Janis Romer and text by Frank McCabe
Crab Nebula
The excellent sketch above was made by Janis Romer with her Criterion 8″ f/8 Netownian telescope and is the Crab Nebula, M-1 or NGC 1952. This nebula is a supernova remnant with a rapidly rotating central pulsar that can be seen telescopically in the constellation of Taurus near the tip of the southern most horn (Zeta Tauri). The visual magnitude is about 8.5 and the diameter is 11 light years at a distance of 6,500 l.y. The stellar supernova explosion that became the nebula was first seen in the summer of 1054 AD as a daytime guest star. Twenty seven years after John Bevis discovered the nebula in 1731, Charles Messier cataloged it in September of 1758. Charles Messier saw it as an elongated glow in the shape of a candle flame.