Crab Nebula

Although the pictures below make it kind of challenging for anyone, including me, to find the Crab Nebula within them, those are the pictures that Harvard MicroObservatory sent me.  It also does not take away from the fact that the Crab Nebula is pretty incredible.  It is a supernova nebula that was created from the death of a star and the gas that was released from it ().  It was first spotted by Chinese astronomers on July 4, 1054, which is a considerably long time ago ().  Although their technology was not as advanced as ours, they were still able to see this beautiful nebula because apparently, this nebula could be seen with the naked eye for almost 2 years due to its brightness (). In 1758, Charles Messier discovered this blob in the sky while looking for Halley's Comet and named it M1 ().  If you are ever able to see this nebula, which you can with a pair of binoculars if you know where to look, then you really are in for a treat.  It is a beautiful, blobby patch of gas that has continued to mesmerize astronomers.

Redd, Nola Taylor. "The Crab Nebula (M1): Facts, Discovery & Images | Space.com." Space.com. N.p., 
8 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.

Taken by Harvard MicroObservatory 11/30/15

Taken by Harvard MicroObsevatory 11/30/15