Messier 1 (M 1) - Crab Nebula

Introduction | Map | Find/Identify | Sketch | My Best Own Photos | My Own Observations | References || Appendix: My Own Photos

On this page I collect my observations of the galactic emission nebula (supernova remnant) M 1 (Crab Nebula; NGC 1952) in the constellation Taurus / Bull.

Introduction

Taurus / Bull is another constellation that I only knew by its name. Thanks to the Hyades (Mel 25), it has now become more familiar to me - at least its star Aldebaran, which glares conspicuously yellow (or golden). While the Hyades are at the center of Taurus, the galactic emission nebula M 1 (NGC 1952), also known as Crab Nebula, is located at its left end and slightly above the end star zeta Tauri. It is famous for being a supernova remnant from 1054.

M 1 (NGC 1952):
Size: 5 'x 4' / 6' (Stoyan / Karkoschka)
Distance: 6,200 light years (Stoyan)
Rating: *** (Stoyan)

Note: NGC 6960/6992/5 (Cirrus or Veil Nebula), M 1 (Crab Nebula), and IC 443 (Jellyfish Nebula) are the only supernova remnants that I have observed so far.

Map

M 1 (Crab Nebula) between Gemini / Twins and Taurus / Bull and below Elnath in Auriga (Image Courtesy of SkySafari Astronomy, www.simulationcurriculum.com)

Find/Identify

Find: While the Hyades are at the center of Taurus, the galactic emission nebula M 1 (NGC 1952), also known as Crab Nebula, is located at its left end and slightly above the end star zeta Tauri (and nearly on the connecting line between zeta Tauri and Elnath). Whenever you see a faint glow in the eyepiece, you found M 1!

Identify: If the galactic emission nebula M 1 in the constellation Taurus was found in the way described above, it is also identified. (Image Courtesy of SkySafari Astronomy, www.simulationcurriculum.com)

Sketch

The sketch by Michael Vlasov (DeepSkyWatch.com) provides a rough impression of what I observed (my impression was much fainter than the sketch):

Sketch of the Crab Nebula by Michael Vlasov (Copyright © Michael Vlasov 2016)

My Best Own Photos

Atik Infinity & Explorer 150PDS (April 6, 2018)

M 1 (Taurus), post-processed and noise removed		Ditto,post-processed and noise removed		Ditto, post-processed and noise removed

eVscope

M 1 - Jan 28, 2020, processed		M 1 - Jan 28, 2020, processed		M 1 - Mar 22, 2020, processed
M 1 - Mar 6, 2021, processed		M 1 - Mar 6, 2021, processed		M 1 - Mar 6, 2021, processed

eVscope 2

M 1 - Feb 7, 2023, 784 s		M 1 - Feb 7, 2023 - photo left processed

Vespera

M 1, Jan 9, 2024 - original (179 frames = 1790 s)		M 1, Jan 9, 2024 - large (179 frames = 1790 s), photo left processed
M 1, Jan 26, 2024 - original (149 frames = 1490 s), CLS Filter		M 1, Jan 26, 2024 - large (149 frames = 1490 s), CLS Filter, photo left processed

Vespera Pro

M 1, Nov 4, 2024 - 1800 (180 frames = 30 min), section		M 1, Nov 4, 2024 - 1800 (180 frames = 30 min), section, photo left processed
		M 1, Nov 4, 2024 - 1800 (180 frames = 30 min), section, processed and denoised (DN)

My Own Observations

Observations February 2017

• February 13, 2017 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: LT, Heritage 100P): The galactic emission nebula M 1 (NGC 1952; Crab Nebula) received a "three-star rating". Unfortunately, this does not affect the fact that I was not able find it on this day. But maybe I was looking for M 1 at the wrong location, and it was not the nebula itself that was too faint to be seen...
• February 14, 2017 (ditto: GSD 680, Heritage 100P on GoTo mount): Using my 8" Dobsonian the next day, I was also not able to find M 1. And the same accounts for the Heritage 100P on the GoTo mount: There was nothing to see! I therefore assumed that the light pollution is too strong here to be able to recognize M 1.
• February 18, 2017 (ditto: GSD 680): On this day, I looked for M 1 again using the GSD 680, and this time I was able to recognize, at least, a faint glimmer with this scope - and this was reproducible!
• February, 26, 2017 (ditto: Heritage P130 on GoTo mount): The same applies more or less to this observation day (new moon).

Observations April 2018

• April 6, 2018 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Explorer 150PDS on GoTo-Mount with Atik Infinity, StarSense): M 1 photographed, easy to identify.

Observations January - March 2020

• January 16 and 20, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: C8 on Star Discovery mount): M1 faint, but recognizable
• January 28, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 1 photographed, easy to identify.
• February 6-7, 15-16, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 1 photographed (photos had too many hot pixels).
• March 13, 18, 22-23, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 1 photographed (now without hot pixels).

Observations November 2020

• Nov 17 , 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 1 photographed in the new rectangular format without overlay.

Observations January - March 2021

• Jan 14 , 2021 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 1 photographed (r.f., n.o.), photos discarded
• Mar 6 , 2021 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 1 photographed (r.f., n.o.), exposed manually

Observations January - March 2022

• January 24, 2022 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope and eVscope2): M 1 photographed with both eVscopes (app version 1.5)
• March 20, 2022 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope2): M 1 photographed (app version 1.5)

Observations January - February 2023

• January 18, 2023 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope2): M 1 photographed (app version 2.2), 632 s
• February 4, 2023 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope2): M 1 photographed (app version 2.3), 448 s, nearly full moon
• February 7, 2023 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope2): M 1 photographed (app version 2.3), 784 s, after full moon

Observations January - November 2024

• January 9, 2024 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Vespera): M 1 photographed, 1790 s
• January 26, 2024 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Vespera): M 1 photographed with CLS Filter, 1490 s
• November 4, 2024 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Vespera Pro): M 1 photographed, 30 min

References

• Messier Catalogue - Messier 1: messier.seds.org/m/m001.html
• Crab Nebula (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_Nebula
• Supernova remnant (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova_remnant
• SN 1054 (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SN_1054

On this Site

• Sky-Watcher Heritage P130 Information (5" Dobson)
• Sky-Watcher Heritage 100P Information (4" Dobson)
• GSO GSD 680 Information (8" Dobson)
• Sky-Watcher Explorer 150PDS Information (6" Newton)
• Celestron C8 OTA Information (8" Schmidt-Cassegrain)
• Unistellar eVscope Information
• Unistellar eVscope 2 Information
• Vaonis Vespera - Information
• Vaonis Vespera Pro - Information
• Sky-Watcher Star Discovery AZ GoTo Mount Information
• Celestron StarSense AutoAlign for Sky-Watcher Information
• Atik Infinity Colour Camera - Information

My Own Photos

Atik Infinity & Explorer 150PDS (April 6, 2018)

M 1, unprocessed		Ditto, post-processed		Ditto, post-processed and noise removed
M 1 (Taurus), unprocessed		Ditto, post-processed		Ditto, post-processed and noise removed
M 1 (Taurus), unprocessed		Ditto, post-processed		Ditto, post-processed and noise removed

eVscope

M 1 - Jan 28, 2020, processed		M 1 - Jan 28, 2020, processed		M 1 - Mar 13, 2020, processed
M 1 - Mar 13, 2020, processed		M 1 - Mar 18, 2020, processed		M 1 - Mar 18, 2020, processed
M 1 - Mar 22, 2020, processed		M 1 - Mar 22, 2020, processed		M 1 - Mar 23, 2020, processed
M 1 - Mar 23, 2020, processed		M 1 - Mar 23, 2020, processed		M 1 - Mar 23, 2020, processed
M 1 - Nov 17, 2020		M 1 - Nov 17, 2020		M 1 - Nov 17, 2020
M 1 - Nov 17, 2020, photo on top processed		M 1 - Nov 17, 2020, photo on top processed		M 1 - Nov 17, 2020, photo on top processed
M 1 - Mar 6, 2021		M 1 - Mar 6, 2021		M 1 - Mar 6, 2021
M 1 - Mar 6, 2021, photo on top processed		M 1 - Mar 6, 2021, photo on top processed		M 1 - Mar 6, 2021, photo on top processed
M 1 - Jan 24, 2022		M 1 - Jan 24, 2022, photo left processed

eVscope 2

M 1 - Jan 24, 2022		M 1 - Jan 24, 2022 - photo left processed
M 1 - Jan 24, 2022 - with overlay, 6 min		M 1 - Jan 24, 2022 - with overlay, photo left processed, 6 min
M 1 - Mar 20, 2022		M 1 - Jan 18, 2023, 632 s		M 1 - Feb 4, 2023, 448 s
M 1 - Mar 20, 2022 - photo on top processed		M 1 - Jan 18, 2023 - photo on top processed		M 1 - Feb 4, 2023 - photo on top processed
M 1 - Feb 7, 2023, 784 s		M 1 - Feb 7, 2023 - photo left processed

Vespera

M 1, Feb 7, 2023 - original (181 frames = 1810 s)
M 1, Jan 9, 2024 - original (179 frames = 1790 s)		M 1, Jan 9, 2024 - large (179 frames = 1790 s), photo left processed
M 1, Jan 26, 2024 - original (149 frames = 1490 s), CLS Filter		M 1, Jan 26, 2024 - large (149 frames = 1490 s), CLS Filter, photo left processed

Vespera Pro

M 1, Nov 4, 2024 - 1800 (180 frames = 30 min)		M 1, Nov 4, 2024 - 1800 (180 frames = 30 min), photo left processed
		M 1, Nov 4, 2024 - 1800 (180 frames = 30 min), processed and denoised (DN)