Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

M1: The Incredible Expanding Crab

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 8, 2025 is “M1: The Incredible Expanding Crab,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: NASA , ESA , CSA , STScI ; Jeff Hester (ASU), Allison Loll (ASU), Tea Temim (Princeton University). The original explanation runs about 134 words.

The Crab Nebula, M1, is shown as imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope. The rollover image is the same Crab Nebula but this time from the Hubble Space Telescope. The Webb image is in near infrared light, while the Hubble image is in visi
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , CSA , STScI ; Jeff Hester (ASU), Allison Loll (ASU), Tea Temim (Princeton University) Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Cataloged as M1, the Crab Nebula is the first on Charles Messier’s famous list of things which are not comets . In fact, the Crab Nebula is now known to be a supernova remnant, an expanding cloud of debris from the death explosion of a massive star.”

— APOD editors, May 8, 2025

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 8, 2025
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , CSA , STScI ; Jeff Hester (ASU), Allison Loll (ASU), Tea Temim (Princeton University)
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 134 words

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Topics in this entry

NebulaeSupernovaeCometsHubble Space TelescopeJames Webb Space Telescope

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: May 8 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.