Crab Pulsar (PSR B0531+21)
Also known as Crab Pulsar · PSR B0531+21
Crab Pulsar (PSR B0531+21) is a pulsar in the constellation Taurus, about 6,500 light-years from Earth.
Spins about 30 times per second at the heart of the Crab Nebula, the remnant of a supernova recorded by astronomers in the year 1054.
Facts
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Taurus |
| Position (J2000) | 5h 34m 31s, +22° 00′ |
| Distance | 6,500 light-years (its light set off about 6,520 years ago) |
| Studied in | 5,543 scientific papers (SIMBAD) |
When and how to see it
Crab Pulsar (PSR B0531+21) is highest in the sky at midnight in December. From India (about 20° N) it climbs to about 88° above the horizon; from 50° N, to about 62°.
Heights are worked out for India and for 50° N. Set your location in Settings to see them for where you are.
For tonight's best time from your own town, the darkness and the Moon, open it on the map and see its "Tonight from your location" card.
More in Taurus
- Barnard's Merope Nebula (IC 349)
- Crab Nebula (M1)
- Hyades
- Maia Nebula (NGC 1432)
- Merope Nebula (NGC 1435)
- Pleiades (M45)
- Simeis 147
- Spaghetti Nebula
Everything in Taurus · All 88 constellations · All sky objects
Data: SIMBAD (CDS, Strasbourg; the site's weekly copy) · Deep Sky Monitor's own notes · Data sources & credits