What is a nebula simple definition?

A nebula is an enormous cloud of dust and gas occupying the space between stars and acting as a nursery for new stars. The roots of the word come from Latin nebula, which means a “mist, vapor, fog, smoke, exhalation.” Nebulae are made up of dust, basic elements such as hydrogen and other ionized gases.

What causes nebula?

The Short Answer: A nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space. Some nebulae (more than one nebula) come from the gas and dust thrown out by the explosion of a dying star, such as a supernova. Other nebulae are regions where new stars are beginning to form.

What is the difference between a nebula and a galaxy?

A nebula is a cloud of dust and gas, usually tens to hundreds of light years across. A galaxy is much larger — usually thousands to hundreds of thousands of light years across. Nebulae are one of the many things that galaxies are made of, along with stars, black holes, cosmic dust, dark matter and much more.

What is nebula in pharmacy?

[neb´u-lah] 1. slight corneal opacity. 2. an oily preparation for use in a nebulizer.

Is Earth in a nebula?

The planet Earth is not part of any particularly named Nebula . Earth is part of the Solar System which is part of our home galaxy, the so-called “Milky Way”, which is part of the so-called Local Group , a collection of more than 50 other galaxies in the “neighborhood” of our own galaxy.

Why are nebulae different colors?

The word “nebula” is derived from the Latin word for “clouds”. Indeed, a nebula is a cosmic cloud of gas and dust floating in space. Stars inside these clouds of gas cause them to glow with beautiful reds, blues, and greens. These colors are the result of different elements within the nebula.

What are the 6 types of nebula?

These are emission nebulae, reflection nebulae, dark nebulae, planetary nebulae, and supernova remnants.

Are there nebulae in the Milky Way?

Right now, we know of about 3,000 planetary nebulae in our galaxy, the Milky Way, out of roughly 200 billion stars. Most of them are near the center of our galaxy. They come in many shapes, but most are spherical, elliptical, or bipolar.

What Makes the Great Orion Nebula unique?

Popularly called the Orion Nebula, this stellar nursery has been known to many different cultures throughout human history. The nebula is only 1,500 light-years away, making it the closest large star-forming region to Earth and giving it a relatively bright apparent magnitude of 4.