Abstract
It has been argued1 that the supernova of AD 1054 which left the Crab Nebula supernova remnant was of Type II. Such super-novae occur in the spiral arms of galaxies and are believed to have initial masses of >4M⊙. The helium overabundance detected in the Crab Nebula filaments is compatible2 with an initial stellar core mass of 2–4 M⊙ corresponding to a total precursor mass of 10–15 M⊙. The Crab Nebula as usually depicted consists of filaments of total mass 2–3 M⊙ and a pulsar of 1.4 M⊙. If the precursor of SN1054 was heavier than ∼4 M⊙, its outer envelope could be detectable1 as an extended halo around the Crab Nebula. We have detected such an outer halo, whose size implies that the progenitor of SN1054 was indeed a massive star.
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