The Infrared Universe Images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope Crab Nebula The Crab nebula is the shattered remnant of a massive star that ended its life in a massive supernova explosion. Nearly a thousand years old, the supernova was noted in the constellation of Taurus by Chinese astronomers in the year 1054 A.D. In this infrared view from Spitzer, the blue-white region traces the cloud of energetic electrons trapped within the star's magnetic field. The red features follow the well-known filamentary structures that permeate this nebula. + Full image and caption 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8   Jet Propulsion Laboratory    California Institute of Technology   Spitzer Space Telescope