nebula

[neb-yuh-luh]

noun

plural

nebulae, nebulas 

1. Astronomy.

   1. Also called diffuse nebula. a cloud of interstellar gas and dust.

   2. (formerly) any celestial object that appears nebulous, hazy, or fuzzy, and extended in a telescope view.

2. Pathology.

   1. a faint opacity in the cornea.

   2. cloudiness in the urine.

3. any liquid medication prepared for use as a spray.

nebula

/ ˈnɛbjʊlə /

noun

1. astronomy a diffuse cloud of particles and gases (mainly hydrogen) that is visible either as a hazy patch of light (either an emission or a reflection nebula ) or an irregular dark region against a brighter background ( dark nebula ) Compare planetary nebula

2. pathol

   1. opacity of the cornea

   2. cloudiness of the urine

3. any substance for use in an atomizer spray

nebula

plural

nebulae 

1. A visible, thinly spread cloud of interstellar gas and dust. Some nebulae are the remnants of a supernova explosion, others are gravity-induced condensations of the gases in the interstellar medium which in certain cases may become a site for the formation of new stars. The term was formerly used of any hazy, seemingly cloudlike object, including what are now recognized as other galaxies beyond the Milky Way; it is restricted now to actual clouds of gas and dust within our own galaxy.

2. ◆ Nebulae are generally classified as bright or dark. Among the bright nebulae are cold clouds that reflect light from nearby stars (reflection nebulae) and hot, ionized clouds that glow with their own light (emission nebulae). Dark nebulae—cold clouds that absorb the passing light from background stars—are called absorption nebulae.

3. See more at star

nebula

1. plur. nebulae In astronomy, a hazy patch of light visible in the sky. Some nebulae are clouds of gas within the Milky Way; others are distant galaxies.

Other Word Forms

• nebular adjective
• nonnebular adjective
• prenebular adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nebula¹

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin: “cloud, mist, vapor”; akin to German Nebel “fog, haze,” Greek nephélē “cloud,” Sanskrit nábha- “cloud, vapor”

Word History and Origins

Origin of nebula¹

C17: from Latin: mist, cloud; related to Greek nephétē cloud, Old High German nebul cloud, Old Norse njól night

Example Sentences

During this mission, the instrument also collected data from the Crab pulsar and its surrounding wind nebula, one of the brightest and most stable sources of X-rays in the sky.

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The nebula spans an area of the sky roughly four times larger than a full Moon and seems to be chasing a glowing patch of light above it, as if in pursuit of cosmic prey.

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And perfectly in time for Halloween, they captured a spooky, red-glowing nebula that looks just like a bat signal shining across the universe!

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Another concerns the gaseous nebulas in which the planets and their stars formed.

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As a result, there was initially no explanation for the strange jet discovered in 1918 emerging from the center of this "nebula."

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