dark nebula

American  

noun

Astronomy.

1. a cloud of interstellar gas and dust that absorbs and thus obscures the light from stars behind it, appearing as a dark patch in front of a bright nebula or in an otherwise bright area of sky.

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dark nebula British  

noun

1. a type of nebula that is observed by its blocking of radiation from other sources See nebula

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dark nebula Scientific  

1. See absorption nebula

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Etymology

Origin of dark nebula

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dark nebula

"It is very difficult to capture dark nebula with any kind of clarity," explained Dr Ed Bloomer.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2022

Barnard 68 is an example of a relatively dense cloud or dark nebula containing tiny, solid dust grains.

From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016

It was suggested at the time that the bursting of a star may merely have lit up a previously dark nebula, but the spectroscope does not support this.

From The Story of Evolution by McCabe, Joseph

Upon the whole, the theory of an encounter between a star and a dark nebula seems best to fit the observations.

From Curiosities of the Sky by Serviss, Garrett Putman

We have seen that there are reasons for supposing our own system to have been at first a cool dark nebula rotating slowly.

From The Children's Book of Stars by Mitton, G. E. (Geraldine Edith)