What is a Nebula?

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Chances are you have seen a nebula – maybe not live and in-person, but probably on a tv program about space or cruising through the documentary section on netflix. Maybe you were a space junkie as a kid and could name all the star clusters.

But if you weren’t? What the heck is a nebula? Wikipedia tells us it is actually the latin word for “cloud” and that is exactly what it is – a space cloud made up of ionic gases and interstellar dust. Nebulas are just as beautiful as our earth-bound clouds, and scientists study them to understand their previous incarnation as stars. They form out of the remains of exhausted stars! Learn more about Nebulas here, and next time you’re nerding out watching Star Trek & they get stuck in a nebula, you can whip out some amazing facts to your family and friends!

Did you want to be an astronaut when you were growing up?