Messier 1
The discovery of this nebula in 1758 prompted Charles Messier to compile his celebrated catalogue. It is the remnant of a supernova that exploded in 1054. The explosion was so bright that the star was visible in daylight for 23 days. In the core of the Crad Nebula, a tiny spinning neutron star about the size of a city but more massive than the Sun flashes a beam of energy on & off 30 times a second. This star called a pulsar and is all that remains of the original star that exploded as a supernova in 1054. M1 appears as a round blue glow in small telescopes, but an 8-inch or larger can show some traces of internal structure.

The Crab Nebula at 49x in an 8" scope, it's fairly faint, but definitely visible as a dim, blurry smudge of irregular shape. 122x makes it appear larger and noticeably oblong. Next to it lies the mag. 6.9 star TYC 1310-1195-1, which makes the job of focusing much easier. The nebulosity was fairly uniform, except for fading out a bit near the edges.
You can find more information about this Messier object by visiting: SEDS - The Messier Catalog.
    Crab Nebula
    M1
    NGC 1952
    Other description: Nebula.
    Constellation: Tau
    Dreyer description: Very bright, very large, extended 135° +/-, very gradually little brighter middle, resolvable, but mottled; = M1.
    Magnitude: 8.4
    RA: 05h 34m 43.6s Dec: +22°01'15"
    RA: 05h 34m 30.0s Dec: +22°01'00" (Epoch 2000)
    Azm: 76°39'11" Alt: +17°59'09"
    Rise: 04:33 Transit: 12:16 Set: 19:59
    Size: 6.0'