Crab Nebula

American  

noun

Astronomy.

1. the remnant of a supernova explosion, observed in 1054 a.d., in the constellation Taurus.

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Crab Nebula British  

noun

1. the expanding remnant of the supernova observed in 1054 _ad , lying in the constellation Taurus at an approximate distance of 6500 light years

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Etymology

Origin of Crab Nebula

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

The Crab Pulsar sits at the center of the Crab Nebula in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way, about 6,500 light-years from Earth.

From Science Daily • Mar. 28, 2026

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has gazed at the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus.

From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2023

Additional aspects of the inner workings of the Crab Nebula become more prominent and are seen in greater detail in the infrared light captured by Webb.

From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2023

How can the Crab Nebula shine with the energy of something like 100,000 Suns when the star that formed the nebula exploded almost 1000 years ago?

From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016

The Crab Nebula is the remains of a massive star that blew itself up.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan