Star Gazers

Hey, Stargazers!

Nebulae are often known for their breathtaking beauty.

They're star-forming clouds of gas and dust and here are the five major categories of nebulae and some examples of each one.

First, we have emission nebulae.

They get their name because they emit their own light.

The ionized gas in this kind of nebula is high energy, which is what causes them to glow.

A famous example of an emission nebula is the Orion Nebula, a huge star-forming nebula in the constellation Orion.

This is the closest nebula to Earth, so you can see it even with the naked eye.

Next are reflection nebula.

These nebulae reflect the light from nearby stars.

The stars aren't powerful enough to energize the gas like emission nebulae, but they are powerful enough that their light scatters throughout the gas often giving it this bluish glow.

Kind of like a street lamp, illuminating the fog.

An example of a reflection nebula is one called NGC 1999, which is illuminated by a bright recently formed star close to the famous Orion Nebula.

The third category of nebulae is what's called planetary nebulae.

They get their name from their fuzzy cloudy shapes that resemble planets.

However, these nebulae actually have nothing to do with planets.

They just form during the death of low-mass stars, no big deal.

When stars like that die, they expel shells of gas into unique shapes.

The Helix Nebula is a great example of a planetary nebula.

It kind of looks like a bubble or an eye from Earth's point of view.

Pretty cool.

So next category is what is called supernova remnants.

It's a great band name.

Supernovas happen when stars explode and shoot their contents into space.

The debris left over from the explosion forms an expanding nebula.

One of the most famous examples is the Crab Nebula, which was created by a star explosion in the year 1054.

At the time, astronomers recorded it being so bright that they could even see it in the daytime sky.

And finally we have dark nebulae, otherwise known as absorption nebulae.

These clouds contain such a large amount of gas and dust that they don't emit or reflect light and instead they block light coming from behind them and what you see are oddly shaped dark clouds against brighter stars.

An example of this is the iconic Horsehead Nebula, which is a favorite target for both amateur and professional astronomers and there you have it - the five main categories of nebulae.

These giant clouds of gas and dust truly give us some of the universe's most beautiful images in space and while we have fantastic telescopes that give us these images, many nebulae are able to be seen from Earth during a stargazing session.

So remember friends, keep looking up!