Crab Nebula

The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant formed extremely recently in cosmic terms. The supernova itself was likely to be observed by Chinese astronomers in 1054, who reported a “guest star” so bright that it is visible in daylight for the next 23 days since its appearance. At the center of the nebula today lies a pulsar, a neutron star forged by the intense pressure in the final moments of a star’s death, spinning 30.2 times per second about its axis.

(Right: Mosaic from multiple images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope; colors resemble but are not true to the eye)