Nearly a thousand years ago, a new star suddenly appeared in the constellation Taurus, the bull. It was so bright that, for weeks, it was visible even during the daytime.

Today, we know that this astronomical oddity was a supernova—the colossal explosion of a dying star some 6,500 light-years away. Although the mysterious star faded from Earth’s night sky several years after it appeared, its remnants formed one of the most spectacular objects in our galaxy: the Crab Nebula.

The expanding cloud of energized gas resembles a tapestry woven from brightly colored filaments. And now, for the first time, the Hubble Space Telescope has peered into the very heart of this celestial storm.

The extraordinary view—a combination of three high-resolution images—reveals the