Britannica Sources used in this answer

How fast are the filaments in the Crab Nebula expanding?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Detail of the Cygnus Loop.This nebula is the product of a supernova explosion; in this section, the blast wave has encountered an area of dense interstellar gas, creating turbulence in the wave and causing it to glow. The picture is a composite of three images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. — Supernova remnant Detail of the Cygnus Loop.
This nebula is the product of a supernova explosion; in this section, the blast wave has encountered an area of dense interstellar gas, creating turbulence in the wave and causing it to glow. The picture is a composite of three images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The filaments in the Crab Nebula are currently expanding at a rate of approximately 1,100 kilometers (about 700 miles) per second.12