NebulaeThey are created by gas and space dust found in outer space, which is expelled by so-called supernovae, which are exploded stars. In this article, we'll learn everything about what a nebula looks like and the different types of nebulas that exist or have been recorded by NASA.
What is a Nebula?
When we talk about a Nebula we mean a huge cloud of dust and gas that is found in outer space. Certain kinds of Nebulae are those that come from the dust and gas that is emanated in the explosions caused by dying stars, which are known as Supernovae. Other classes of Nebulae are species of regions where new stars begin to originate. For this reason, on many occasions some of the nebulae are called "Nurseries of Stars".
So we can conclude that nebulae are species of gas concentrations where the outstanding element is hydrogen, in addition to helium and stardust, three syntheses that make up nebulae. These are crucial in the universe because new stars originate within them from the condensation and aggregation of dark matter. To better understand the phenomenon of their formation, you can consult What are nebulae?.
Apart from the fact that certain nebulae are made up of a group of new stars, there are also others that group together a large number of dead stars or that are in their final days, where the aforementioned elements that make them up have already been consumed in their entirety. .
How do stars form in a nebula?
As we've previously described, nebulae are made of gases and dust, primarily helium and hydrogen. The elements within a nebula, such as dust and gas, are completely scattered, however, the force of gravity is what can begin to bring all these groups of elements together. As they grow larger, the cloud's gravitational pull becomes much stronger and more powerful than at the beginning.
Once all these elements of gas and dust have grouped together, the cloud has reached an enormous size that is collapsed by its own gravity. The collapse is what causes the material located at the center of this cloud to increase its temperature and heat up. This high-temperature core constitutes the beginning of a new star. This process can be observed in the types of planetary nebulae.
Where are the Nebulae?
The vast majority of nebulae are found in outer space, among the millions of stars that exist, also known as interstellar space. The nebula generally known to be closest to our planet Earth is the Helix Nebula. It is a remnant or remains of a dying star, believed to have been very similar to the Sun. You can read more about the Sun in What kind of star is the Sun?.
This nebula is more or less at a distance of 700 light years from Planet Earth. Which means that even if a spaceship managed to travel at the speed of light, it would still take about 700 years to reach it.
How Can Nebulae Be Seen?
Great astronomers use tools like powerful telescopes to photograph nebulae far beyond our solar system. NASA's large space telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, have been able to capture a large number of nebulae far beyond our solar system. For an in-depth look at telescopes, check out Chandra telescope.
Classification of the Types of Nebulae
Nebulae, which come to be represented in different shapes and sizes, are classified into 4 main types that are:
- The Reflection Nebulae.
- The Emission Nebulae.
- The Absorption Nebulae.
- The Planetary Nebulae.
The Reflection Nebulae
These consist of the nebulae that reflect the light of the stars that are nearby and that do not express an intense radiation so that the nebula becomes illuminated, so these dust clouds only reflect the light of 1 star that is nearby and that they appear mostly in blue colors because of the way starlight is often scattered by dust particles in this nebula. A good example of this would be:
- The Pleiades Nebula.
- The Seven Sisters Nebula.
The Emission Nebulae
The Emission Nebulae are the ones that expose their own light because the hydrogen atoms are adulterated by the strong ultraviolet light of all those nearby stars; the hydrogen is ionized and in turn causes the generation of the Brightness of the nebula. It may be a usual class of the closest stars. For example:
- The Horseshoe Nebula.
- The Omega Nebula.
The Absorption Nebulae
They are also known as the dark nebulae, which are characterized by not being able to emit light, this nebula hides the stars it contains, so they cannot be directly visible to telescopes. It became the astronomer named William Herschel, the man who discovered this kind of nebula. A good example of it is:
- The Horsehead Nebula.
There is a great infinity of Constellations that host millions of stars, both young and some that are already in their last days, which are known as Dying Stars. These Constellations contain many amounts of Nebulae of any of the 4 types that exist.
The Planetary Nebulae
These nebulae are the ones that shine because the light related to the star becomes absorbed by the so-called atoms of the nebula; These consist of covers of gas that are detached from all the dying stars that are emitting the material into outer space. These outer layers of gas are expanded in the direction of space, which forms the Nebula, which takes the form of a ring or a bubble. An example of this class is:
- The Helix Nebula.
Thanks to the help of today's powerful telescopes and also long exposures, astronomers can view beautiful, colorful images that demonstrate the full range of colors and shades of the nebula, which consists of Hydrogen in colors like, Pink and Blue, Helium, Nitrogen in Red, and Oxygen in Blue - Green.
What are the Types of Nebulae that Exist?
Now we are going to present a series of types of nebulae that belong to a collection that has been classified by NASA, which have been cataloged as the most spectacular in our cosmos. We are going to present about 27 types of nebulae that belong to the 4 main types that we mentioned before. We will begin our grand tour with the so-called Dumbbell Nebula.
Dumbbell Nebula
The so-called Dumbbell Nebula, is also known as Messier 27, other popular names are:
- The Haltera Nebula
- The Apple Nebula
Which radiates infrared light that has been captured by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. This nebula belongs to the type of Planetary Nebula that is located within the constellation of "Vulpecula" or also known as "La Zorra", which is located at a distance of about 1.360 light years from planet Earth. It is highly regarded as one of the largest planetary nebulae known today.
Butterfly Nebula
The so-called Butterfly Wings Nebula or also known as M2-9, is a very striking example of bipolar planetary nebulae; These types of nebulae are formed when their central object does not consist of a single star, but is made up of a binary star system.
Large studies have been able to show that the size of the nebula increases over the years. The Butterfly Wings Nebula is located at a distance of about 2.100 light years from our Planet Earth.
Helix Nebula
The Helix Nebula is part of the Planetary Nebulae located in the constellation of Aquarius. Thanks to the image captured by NASA's Spitzer telescope and also by the GALEX observatory, it is possible to observe this nebula as a dying star that emits a kind of cosmic radiation.
In this way, the Nebula has been formed by a star that is believed to be very similar to our central star, that is, the Sun in its final days of life. The Helix Nebula is located at a distance of about 1 light-years from planet Earth.
tarantula nebula
This is popularly known as the Tarantula Nebula or also known as 30 Doradus or NGC 207, it is a type of nebula that has been observed by the Chandra X-ray observatory, which is blue, also by the Hubble telescope X-ray in green and by the Spitzer telescope in red.
It is located in the huge Magellanic Cloud, said Tarantula Nebula consists of one of the largest areas that form the stars near the Milky Way. Apart from that it is considered one of the brightest in outer space.
veil nebula
The Veil Nebula or Swan Loop Nebula, is made up of hot gas and dust that shine intensely in such a way that it has been observed thanks to an ultraviolet image that was captured by the Galaxy Evolution Explorar telescope known by its acronym as "GALEX" belonging to NASA. This nebula is located about 1.500 light years away from Planet Earth.
Spider and Fly Nebula
In the so-called IC 410 Emission Nebula, it predominates in star formation, as can be seen in a capture made by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in an infrared image. With a little imagination we can see the Great IC 417 and the Small NGC 1931 next to it, which refer to a spider and a fly, comparatively. This nebula is located approximately 10.000 light years away from planet Earth.
Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula consists of an iconic leftover from a supernova that belongs to our galaxy, that is, to the Milky Way, according to observations made by the Herschel telescope and also by the Hubble telescope.
This Nebula is located about 6.523 light years away from Earth to it and is the one that makes up the leftover rest of a supernova that could be seen in our sky in the course of about 22 months. In this way it came to be observed and also documented by the great astronomers of Chinese and Arab origin, specifically on July 4, 1054.
Rosette Nebula
An image provided by the ESA Space Observatory and its Herschel telescope captured an area of the Rosette Nebula, which is a Stellar Nursery approximately 5 light-years away from planet Earth. This nebula consists of a giant Molecular Cloud located in the constellation of Monoceros, also known as the Unicorn.
Because it is located in the Milky Way galaxy, the cluster of stars that are open within the nebula is usually visible with binoculars. To learn more about the night sky, you can consult guide to the night sky.
Pac–Man Nebula
Unofficially, it is a star cluster called NGC 28, which is popularly known as the Pac-Man Nebula. An image from the Chandra telescope that belongs to the Observatory in purple can help us see its colors that range from Red , Green, Blue and Purple. The resemblance to the renowned arcade video game is very palpable. This nebula is located in the part of the constellation Cassiopeia.
flame nebula
The so-called NGC 2024 or also popularly known as the Flame Nebula has acquired this name because the clusters of said nebula seem to burn in fire since it is an emission nebula.
The flaming nebula is located approximately near the eastern star of Orion's Belt, also called Alnitak, which is one of the 3 "Marias" belonging to Orion's Belt, which is located at a distance of about 1.400 light years from our planet. planet Earth.
Little Gem Nebula
It is a colorful bubble which is known as the Planetary Nebula NGC 6818, also called the Little Gem Nebula. It is located in the Sagittarius constellation about 6 thousand light years away from planet Earth. Experts come to believe that the stellar wind from the main central star is what pushes the material that is emitted, giving it an elongated shape in NGC 6818.
The first image was obtained through the Hubble telescope, using different types of filters to reveal a different view of the nebula.
There is a small cloud that many people have believed to be a Nebula when they have seen it and the truth is that it is a formation of rocks or space debris that is shaped like a cloud and we refer to the Oort Cloud.
Horsehead Nebula
Known as the Barnard 33 or also as the Horsehead Nebula, it is located approximately 1.500 light years away from Planet Earth, near the so-called Orion Belt. Backlit rays across the broad upper ridge of the Horsehead Nebula are illuminated by Sigma Orionis, a type of system of about 5 young stars that have been imaged by the well-known Hubble Space Telescope.
This nebula is about 3,5 light-years wide and is a dark absorption-type nebula.
Monkey Head Nebula
It is a star-forming region called NGC 2174 or also known as the Monkey's Head Nebula, where, thanks to the infrared images of NASA's Spitzer telescope, you can see a few dozen young stars that are covered by cosmic dust. .
This nebula is located in the constellation of Orion at a distance of about 6.400 light years from Planet Earth, certain clouds that make up this nebula have a resemblance to the head of a monkey and that is where its nickname comes from. The hot cosmic dust found in it glows brightly at infrared wavelengths.
Its edges that have not been captured by the Spitzer telescope became covered with data from many other infrared observations by NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer Spacecraft, known by its acronym "WISE".
The Orion Nebula
Using New observations from ESO's VLT Survey Telescope, a large number of astronomers have been able to discover some 3 distinct populations of stars that lie within the Orion Nebula Group.
These are located at a distance of about 1.350 light years from planet earth and according to the data provided, these stars were not formed at the same time, since these 3 groups show a sequence of ages different from each other, on the other hand, they rotate at different speeds:
The youngest star group rotates much faster than the older ones.
This surprising discovery manages to provide a valuable and new amount of information so that all astronomers can better understand the formation of this class of galactic clusters. So Giacomo Beccari, a renowned ESO astronomer, explains the following:
“Although the great possibility that these stars are binary cannot yet be formally refuted, since it seems much more natural to have to accept that what we observe are 3 generations of stars that form successively in a period of less than 3 million years.
The Planetary Nebula IC 4406
The Yepun Unit Telescope 4 of ESO's Very Large Telescope known by its acronym “VLT” has now been transformed into a fully adaptable telescope. After a long decade of planning, building, and testing, the new and improved Adaptive Optics Facility "AOF" has succeeded in capturing an impressive, pin-sharp view of Planetary Nebula IC 4406.
Everything has been thanks to the kind of adaptive optics that is working to compensate for the blurring effect of the Earth's atmosphere, allowing MOUSE to obtain images that are sharper and clearer. As explained by Harald Kuntschner, the lead scientist of the AOF project at ESO says:
“Now, even when the weather conditions are not perfect, astronomers can get excellent image quality thanks to AOF”
The new observations have demonstrated dramatic improvements in image sharpness, revealing all the shell structures that have never before been seen in IC 4406.
Flaming Star Nebula
The Flaming Star Nebula, also known as IC 405, is an emission/reflection nebula located at a distance of about 1.500 light-years specifically in the constellation Auriga.
The so-called AE Aurigae consists of a radiant star that moves quickly throughout space, possibly due to being expelled from a clash of various star systems in the vicinity of the Orion nebula for millions of years, which can be observed in the left lateral zone, which consists of an extremely hot giant O-type star.
This radiant nebula reaches a size of about 5 light years, so it is also observable with a small telescope if it is viewed in the correct constellation.
trifid nebula
The Trifid Nebula is in visible light, in an image that is captured from planet Earth with a small telescope. This nebula is also known as Messier 20, which is located in the Sagittarius constellation at a distance of about 5.500 light years from Earth and its name means "Divided into 3 Lobes", since it reaches to present about 3 radiating lobes separated by the dark lines of cosmic dust.
It is a kind of emission nebula as well as a reflection nebula and it is very young because it is approximately 300 thousand years old.
pencil nebula
The so-called Pencil Nebula or also known scientifically as NGC 2736, is a small part of the remains of a Vela Supernova, located near the Vela Pulsar in the constellation of the same name. These large remains where the Pencil Nebula is located consist of the explosion of a Supernova that came to life more than 11 thousand years ago.
The nebula's linear appearance has given rise to this popular term. It is located at a distance of about 815 light-years and is moving at about 644 km/h.
Keel Nebula
The Chila Nebula, also known as the Carina Nebula, is a large emission nebula that surrounds several open star clusters. It is located in the Sagittarius arm, in the constellation of Carina, and is situated approximately 7.500 light-years from planet Earth. Very similar to nebulae are the so-called Clouds, which has a composition very different from these first.
This nebula houses a large number of O-type stars with temperatures greater than 33 thousand km, such as the well-known Eta Carinae, which is a very radiant star in the entire Milky Way or HD 93129ª, which is another star that is massively incredible and very radiant. This is about 4 times larger and brighter than the Orion Nebula, however it becomes less well known because it is located in the southern hemisphere.
Cat's Paw Nebula
This nebula is located at a distance of about 5.500 light years from Planet Earth, it is known as NGC 6334 and is popularly known as the Cat's Paw. This came to be discovered in the year 1837 by the renowned astronomer of English origin named John Herschel. Which consists of an emission nebula that covers a region of the sky in a size larger than the Moon when it is in full phase.
The red color becomes characteristic of this nebula which is due to the incandescent hydrogen gas in said cloud of about 50 light years in length, since it is a great nursery for star formation and the young stars of high temperatures that they are responsible for the fact that hydrogen gas shines much brighter in these intense reddish tones.
Nebula NGC 1999
This is similar to a fog lit by a lantern swirling around a hole in a very particular way and there is certainly something true in this. What we can see is the reflection nebula NGC 1999 where the so-called "fog" is pure dust and gas illuminated by the star and the "hole" is usually really an empty space in the sky, this is according to people who discovered it, that is, ESA's Herschel Space Observatory.
Southern Owl Nebula
Known as ESO 378-1 or the Southern Owl Nebula, it is a planetary nebula located in the constellation of Hydra, about 3.500 light-years from Earth. We can observe a splendid globe of water, which glows like the ghost of a star in complete darkness in space.
Planetary nebulae, which are the remains of a dying star that has exploded, play a very important role in chemical enrichment and also in the evolution of the entire universe, since new stars can emerge from them and even the new planets.
Red Square Nebula or MWC 922
It is a nebula that is square, many will wonder, is it really square? The answer is Yes, The Square or Red Square nebula is located in the Serpens Constellation, that is, Serpent and is well known due to its square shape, which has made it one of the celestial objects with the greatest symmetry. that has been discovered.
Now, why would it have this shape? One leading theory is that this is because the central star of this nebula expelled cones of gas late in its development that form at all right angles as seen from planet Earth.
heart nebula
This is known as IC 1805, but popularly called the Heart Nebula for its kind of heart shape in long exposure photographs, it is located about 7.500 light years from planet Earth specifically in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It is nearly 300 light-years across and typically represents a mixture of bright interstellar gas and also dark clouds of dust.
omega nebula
This is located in a small region of M17, popularly called the Omega or Swan Nebula. This large hotbed of star formation is colored according to the chemical compounds that are present. The red that is observed represents sulfur, the green refers to hydrogen and the blue color to oxygen.
They are one of the largest star-forming regions in the Milky Way. It is located about 5.500 light years from planet Earth within the constellation of Sagittarius and has an apparent magnitude class of about 6, because of this it can be seen with the help of binoculars and is more visible in the month of August.
NGC 604
The NGC 604 nebula is located specifically in one of the spiral arms of the so-called Messier 33 galaxy, which is mostly named as the Triangulum Galaxy, which is located at a distance of about 2.723 million light years from Earth. It is made up of more than 200 Stars they are heated by the nebula's ionized hydrogen gas, making it fluoresce.
The Pirate of the Southern Skies
The Pirate Cloud of the Southern Skies is composed of a cloud of gas, dust and young bright stars, which are gravitationally bound in the shape of a laughing skull, this nebula was obtained in photography with the Very Large Telecope "VLT" of that. Which consists of the Nebula called NGC 2467 and is in an active region and star formation that for many catalog it as dark and beautiful.
