nebula Hear it!

nebula Definition

nebu·la (nebyə lə)

noun pl. -·lae′-lē′ or -·las

  1. a cloud of interstellar gas or dust: formerly, applied to any hazy, distant celestial object, as a star cluster or an external galaxy
  2. Med.
    1. a small, cloudy opacity on the cornea
    2. a liquid preparation used as a spray

Etymology: ModL < L, vapor, fog, mist < IE base *nebh-, moist, vapor, cloud > Gr nephos, nephelē, cloud, OE nifol, mist, darkness

nebula Related Forms

nebu·lar adjective

nebula Synonyms

nebula

n.

galaxy, galactic vapor, cloud cluster, nimbus, rarified gas, interstellar dust, luminous vapor. see also constellation.

Kinds of nebulae include: spiral, planetary, diffuse, galactic, gaseous, whirlpool, ring; Crab nebula, nebula of Lyra, nebula of Orion, dark;

nebula Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • discover: He described it as a " nebula discovered by M. Mechain.
  • call: The expended gas frequently forms an impressive display called a planetary nebula that fades gradually over thousand of years.
  • form: He will often stare at the cream dissolving in his coffee, forming specific nebulae, sometimes planets.
  • see: Description: Here we see the nebula also in the infra-red.
  • ionize: These are assumed to be responsible for the variety of shapes of the nebulae ionized by hot evolved stars.
  • observe: The 150mm aperture enables you to observe bright nebulas in the depth of space.

Adjective modifier

  • planetary: Our own Sun may eject a similar planetary nebula some 6 billion years from now.
  • trifid: Polychrome The Trifid Nebula from CFHT -- very pretty.
  • gaseous: I looked at Hubble's greatest hits: nebulae, spiral galaxies, planets, star clusters, gaseous nebulae.
  • solar: Is a solar nebula the reason or is gravity the reason?
  • faint: Narrow bandpass filters also take out sky glow emission lines which also helps to improve the visual contrast of very faint nebulae.
  • bright: The 150mm aperture enables you to observe bright nebulas in the depth of space.

Modifies a noun

  • theory: We get some evidence to support the nebula theories from looking a to support the nebula theories from looking at other star systems.
  • filter: The standard nebula filter takes out a larger chunk of emission from orange out to the start of the nebula emission lines.

Noun used with modifier

  • planetary: Features of Aquarius: Aquarius contains the famous planetary nebula Saturn Nebula.
  • spiral: Historical No-one before Hubble imagined that the spiral nebulae might be other galaxies.
  • reflection: NGC 1999 is an example of a reflection nebula.
  • emission: The dark clouds block the light from the emission nebula behind.
  • gas: The solar system formed from a large gas nebula that had some dust grains in it.
  • crab: The crab nebula is the brightest supernova remnant in the sky.

Browse dictionary entries near nebula

  1. nebuchadnezzar
  2. Nebraskan
  3. Nebraska
  4. Nebr
  5. Nebo
  6. NEbN
  7. Nebiim
  8. NEbE
  9. nebbish
  10. neb
  1. nebular hypothesis
  2. nebulize
  3. nebulosity
  4. nebulous
  5. NEC
  6. NECA
  7. necessarily
  8. necessary
  9. Necessary and Proper Clause
  10. necessary condition