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The Crab Nebula would be a diffuse nebula. It is the remains of a star
that exploded on July 4 AD 1054 (The earliest recorded Independence Day
fireworks show).
A planetary nebula is formed when a star similar in mass to the sun ends
its life by shedding its outer layers. In telescopes, these nebulae
generally appear to be round disks, like the planets. Supernova nebulae
are formed when very massive stars end their lives by exploding. The
other common type of diffuse nebula, like the Orion nebula, are stellar
nurseries, where new stars are being born.
The crab nebula is 67 arcminutes, or 1 1/10 degrees, northwest of zeta Tauri.
I might also suggest, since you are interested in telescopic observing,
that you may want to invest in a copy of Burnham's Celestial Handbook by
Robert Burnham, Jr. It is a marvelous reference for backyard
astronomers, with much descriptive information on stars, star clusters,
galaxies, and lore.
Thanks for writing!
Sincerely,
Kurtis Williams
"Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of
a joy you must have someone to divide it with."
-- Mark Twain
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