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

The Crab Nebula is the remnant of a supernova that appeared in 1054.

From Science Daily • Nov. 18, 2024

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

In addition to pulses of radio energy, we can observe pulses of visible light and X-rays from the Crab Nebula.

From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016

The neutron star at the center of the Crab Nebula is an immense atomic nucleus, about the size of Manhattan, spinning thirty times a second.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan