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What is also known as nebula?
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 type of object is a nebula?
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 was the first nebula?
Spotted by Charles Messier in 1764, M27 was the first planetary nebula ever discovered. The term “planetary nebula” is a bit of a misnomer based on the nebula’s round, planet-like appearance when viewed through smaller telescopes.
What is a nebula named after?
Named after the Latin word for “cloud”, nebulae are not only massive clouds of dust, hydrogen and helium gas, and plasma; they are also often “stellar nurseries” – i.e. the place where stars are born. And for centuries, distant galaxies were often mistaken for these massive clouds.
What is a galactic nebula?
nebula, (Latin: “mist” or “cloud”) plural nebulae or nebulas, any of the various tenuous clouds of gas and dust that occur in interstellar space. In a spiral galaxy the interstellar medium makes up 3 to 5 percent of the galaxy’s mass, but within a spiral arm its mass fraction increases to about 20 percent.
What astronomical objects are named after those who discovered them?
Comets. Comet names are often given for the astronomer(s) who discovered it, but they can also be for scientists who gave significant contributions towards their study.
Is the Milky Way in a nebula?
The Helix Nebula is a planetary nebula, meaning that it formed from a dying star as it ejected its outer layers. It is located within our Milky Way galaxy, like the Helix Nebula, but is about double the distance away and is about 4 times the size.