Nebulae
In 1758, Charles Messier found a crab nebula while hunting for comets. When he noticed that, unlike a comet, it didn't move, he decided to create the Messier Catalog.
At the center of the Crab is a pulsar, the neutron star that remains from the original star. Neutron stars are fantastic objects - just a few kilometers in diameter but with the mass of the Sun and very rapidly rotating (the Crab pulsar rotates 30 times per second, some pulsars ten times faster).
Originally, the word nebula referred to almost any extended astronomical object (other than planets and comets). The etymological root of 'nebula' means 'cloud.'
Clouds often bring us messages when scrying.
As is usual in astronomy, the old terminology survives in modern usage in sometimes confusing ways. We sometimes use the word "nebula" to refer to galaxies, various types of star clusters and various kinds of interstellar dust/gas clouds. More strictly speaking, the word "nebula" should be reserved for gas and dust clouds and not for groups of stars.
Early in this century, there was a great debate as to the nature of the nebulae like this one which at that time could not be resolved into individual stars. Thanks in large part to the work of Edwin Hubble whose famous paper "The Realm of the Nebulae" finally put the issue to rest, we now know that these are really vast conglomerates billions of stars which are very much more distant from the Earth than other nebulae. Our own Milky Way galaxy is just one of the billions of galaxies now known to exist. A typical galaxy is 100,000 light-years in diameter.
GLOBAL CLUSTER
Globular clusters are gravitationally bound groups of many thousands (sometimes as many as a million) of stars. They consist primarily of very old stars. Globular clusters are not concentrated in the plane of the galaxy but rather are randomly distributed throughout the halo. There are several hundred globular clusters associated with our galaxy. A typical globular cluster is a few hundred light-years across.
EMISSION NEBULA
Emission nebulae are clouds of high temperature gas. The atoms in the cloud are energized by ultraviolet light from a nearby star and emit radiation as they fall back into lower energy states (in much the same way as a neon light). These nebulae are usually red because the predominant emission line of hydrogen happens to be red (other colors are produced by other atoms, but hydrogen is by far the most abundant). Emission nebulae are usually the sites of recent and ongoing star formation.
REFLECTION NEBULA
Reflection nebulae are clouds of dust which are simply reflecting the light of a nearby star or stars. Reflection nebulae are also usually sites of star formation. They are usually blue because the scattering is more efficient for blue light. Reflection nebulae and emission nebulae are often seen together and are sometimes b oth referred to as diffuse nebulae.
DARK NEBULA
Dark nebulae are clouds of dust which are simply blocking the light from whatever is behind. They are physically very similar to reflection nebulae; they look different only because of the geometry of the light source, the cloud and the Earth. Dark nebulae are also often seen in conjunction with reflection and emission nebulae. A typical diffuse nebula is a few hundred light-years across.
PLANETARY NEBULA
Planetary nebulae are shells of gas thrown out by some stars near the end of their lives. Our Sun will probably produce a planetary nebula in about 5 billion years. They have nothing at all to do with planets; the terminology was invented because they often look a little like planets in small telescopes. A typical planetary nebula is less than one light-year across.
Unprecedented Double Helix Nebula Near Center of the Milky Way
PhysOrg - March 16, 2006
Rosette Nebula - NGC 2244
Symbology: Rose, Rose Bloodline, Creation, Flower of Life
In the Center of the Rosette Nebula
9 Petal Flower of Life
Cat's Eye Nebula NASA
Cat's Eye Nebula NASA
Eagle Nebula - M16
Snake Nebula in Ophiuchus - B72
Dragons - DNA Symbology [72=9=endings]
NGC 6369: The Little Ghost Nebula
Zero Point Merge
Creation
Sacred Geometry
Hopi Ant People (Alien Grays)
Cancer - Crab Nebula - M1 in Taurus
Spider Web Theory - Creation by One Source in the Web/Matrix
Scorpio Astrology, Mythology, Astronomy
"Red Square" Nebula's Secrets Revealed National Geographic - April 13, 2007
Butterfly Effect Wikipedia
Butterfly Effect Crystalinks
Butterfly Nebula - Milky Way - Gamma Cygni Region
Horse Symbology - Revelation
12 Cones Around 1 to form grids of experience
Ant Nebula
The Red Square Nebula
Red Square Nebula, a rare cloud of dust and gas so symmetrical that a scientist
deemed it "almost perfect." Scientists say the new image shows the Red Square to be
a bipolar nebula, with stellar winds blowing cone-shaped jets away from its hot central star.
Rectangular Nebula is a Double Star MSNBC - May 11, 2004
M2-9: Wings of a Butterfly Nebula
Cassiopeia - Heart Nebula 1C 1805
The Sword of Orion - M42, M43, The Running Man, and NGC 1981
Orion Belt Stars - Alnitak, Alnilam, Mintaka
M42 - The Great Orion Nebula (with M43)
Horsehead Nebula
Wisps Surrounding the Horsehead Nebula NASA - April 6, 2008
Horse Head Shaped Reflection Nebula IC 4592 NASA - August 8, 2006
Horsehead Nebula - B33 NASA - March 21, 2005
The Colorful Horsehead Nebula NASA - October 7, 2003
A Beautiful Boomerang Nebula NASA - December 28, 2007
NGC 6888: The Crescent Nebula NASA - November 11, 2007
NGC 3132: The Eight Burst Nebula NASA - October 14, 2007
The Merope Reflection Nebula NASA - June 11, 2007
Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble NASA - April 30, 2007
Inside the head of this interstellar monster is a star that is slowly destroying it.
IC 4628: The Prawn Nebula NASA - October 20, 2006
NGC 7635: The Bubble
Reflection Nebula in Orion NASA - October 10, 2006
NGC 1499: The California Nebula NASA - October 24, 2006
M8: The Lagoon Nebula NASA - February 10, 2006
The Veil Nebula Unveiled NASA - December 6, 2005
The Fox Fur Nebula NASA - March 14, 2005
IC 418: The Spirograph Nebula NASA - October 17, 2004
Cone Nebula NASA - May 29, 2004
The Pencil Nebula Supernova Shockwave NASA - June 9, 2003
The Pipe Nebula NASA - May 26, 2002
Dust In God's Eye MSNBC - February 12, 2007
A dusty disk glows red at the center of the Helix Nebula in this color-coded view.
Comets Clash at Heart of Helix Nebula PhysOrg - February 13, 2007
Doom for Hubble's iconic Pillars of Creation BBC - January 9, 2007
In all likelihood, the pillars have long gone, destroyed by a supernova
Pulsar in Crab Nebula Has Four Poles, Astronomers Suggest National Geographic - January 9, 2007
Astronomers Report Unprecedented Double Helix Nebula Near Center of the Milky Way PhysOrg - March 16, 2006
Larger View - Best Photo of Crab Nebula National Geographic - December 2, 2005
First Detection Of Magnetic Fields In The Central Stars Of Four Planetary Nebulae Science Daily - January 2005
Trifid Nebula: Giant Incubator Science Daily - January 2005
Symphony Of Colours In The Tarantula Nebula Science Daily - December 2004
Hubble Examines Strange Planetary Nebula Space.com - May 2004
Catalogued as HD 44179, this nebula is about 2,300 light-years away.
They're 'wineglasses' placed bottom-to-bottom with the star
where the bottoms would make contact.
The secret of the Red Rectangle is that it is a double star.
Rectangular Nebula's true nature revealed MSNBC
New Theory: How the Owl Nebula Evolved Space.com - July 2003
Hubble Spies Space Sprinkler System Space.com - May 2003
A detailed view of high-speed jets of material flowing out of a nebula as
if from a garden sprinkler. Astronomers cannot explain the phenomenon.
Hourglass Nebula NASA - June 2002
Looks much like creation based on Sacred Geometry - one cell= sphere. It splits in 2 creating the Vesica Pisces - and so the cells continue to divide.
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