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The final, infinite frontier of space has captured the imagination of humanity since the days of prehistory, and it seems the more we learn about the universe, the more we realize just how little we actually understand it. From black holes to giant stars to distant planets, there are innumerable celestial objects out there for us to study, probe, and marvel at. Certainly, the most visually beautiful and awe-inspiring of all, are nebulae. Usually consisting of gasses and stardust dispersed by ancient explosions and implosions of stars known as supernovas, nebulae, when viewed through telescopes, take the form of heavenly celestial paint splashed across the deep, dark canvas of space.
Click on to see some of the most beautiful nebulae in the sky.
Also commonly referred to as the Star Queen Nebula, the Eagle Nebula is a massive interstellar nebula that acts as a sort of breeding ground for new stars. This nebula rose to mainstream stardom in 1995 when the Hubble telescope sent back high-resolution photos of a star formation region that has come to be known as the Pillars of Creation (pictured).
Another discovery attributed to the British astronomer William Herschel, the Cone Nebula is located in the Monoceros constellation, a faint and distant group of stars that lies on the celestial equator.
Sometimes also referred to as the Pacman Nebula, the Skull Nebula rests within the Cetus constellation and is about 1,600 light-years away from Earth.
The Jewel Bug Nebula is by far the most studied nebula in the universe. Not only is it one of the youngest ever discovered, estimated to be approximately 600 years old, it is also unique in its remarkable density, tiny size, and the complexity of its composition.
Eighteen thousand light-years away from Earth, near the Ara constellation, is the Stingray Nebula. The Stingray Nebula is one of the smallest planetary nebulae that's been observed, but it is still 130 times larger than our own solar system.
A yet-to-be-named planetary nebula in the constellation of Orion, which lies near the celestial equator, NGC-2022 is an incredibly distant, almost circular nebula more than 8 kilolight-years away from Earth.
The picture that the Hubble telescope took of the Helix Nebula, sometimes called the Eye of God, has become one of the most famous pictures in astronomy. The Helix Nebula is one of the closest visible nebulae to earth, located in the Aquarius constellation.
The Ring Nebula, one of the many constellations discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier at the end of the 18th century, is a unique and uniformly shaped nebula in the Lyra constellation.
The Cat's Eye Nebula, located in the Draco constellation, is one of the universe's most closely-studied nebulae. First discovered by William Herschel in the 18th century, this nebula was also observed by William Huggins in the 19th century. He proved that planetary nebulae such as the Cat's Eye Nebulae are gas emissions, as opposed to bright collections of stars as was previously thought.
Also known as the Dumbbell Nebula, the Apple Core Nebula was the first planetary nebula ever discovered. The credit goes to French astronomer Charles Messier, who first spotted it in 1764.
Located in the Gemini constellation, the Clown Faced Nebula, or Lion Nebula, is known for its likeness to a lion's mane, with gaseous strands stretching more than a light-year in some cases.
The Orion Nebula, located in our own Milky Way galaxy, is the closest region of star formation to Earth and is sometimes even visible to the naked eye. Due to its size, brightness, and proximity to earth, it is one of the most closely studied celestial objects in the entire field of astronomy.
About 2,030 light-years away from Earth, in the Ursa Major constellation, lies the Owl Nebula. First observed by a colleague of Charles Messier, Pierre Méchain, in 1781, the relatively young nebula is thought to be only 8,000 years old.
Located in the Sagittarius constellation, the Lagoon Nebula is a massive cloud of gas and stardust about 6,000 light-years away from Earth. Its size and brightness make it one of the few nebulas visible to the naked eye, although only faintly and from certain positions on Earth.
Just around the corner from the north star, in the constellation Camelopardalis, lies the Lemon Slice Nebula, a relatively young and small nebula. Although fairly simple in composition as far as nebulae go, its appearance is certainly becoming of its name.
The Little Ghost Nebula, despite its vibrant coloration in photographs sent from the Hubble telescope, is a relatively faint nebula that lies in the Ophiuchus constellation.
Named after the appearance of its long, winding strings of gas, the Spaghetti Nebula rests between the constellations of Taurus and Auriga. It is the last visible remnants of an ancient supernova.
Discovered in 1890 by Edward Emerson Barnard, Barnard's Merope Nebula is a hauntingly beautiful grouping of gas and space dust near the Pleiades cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters.
A supernova remnant in the constellation of Gemini, the Jellyfish Nebula is about 5,000 light-years away from Earth. The supernova explosion from which the nebula arose is thought to have occurred around 30,000 years ago.
One of the most uniquely shaped nebulae in the observed universe is the Butterfly Nebula, located in the Scorpius constellation. The star at the center of this nebula is one of the hottest white dwarf stars ever recorded.
Although too distant to observe with the naked eye, the Turquoise Orb Nebula, also sometimes called the Blue Racquetball Nebula, is a favorite of amateur astronomers due to its remarkable brightness, making it easy but rewarding to find with a telescope.
Located in the Andromeda constellation, the Snowball Nebula is a planetary nebula also popular with amateur stargazers, since it is easily visible through even less powerful telescopes.
One of the most famous and instantly recognizable nebulae in the sky, the Horsehead Nebula is located within Orion's Belt, just next to the Alnitak star system that forms the easternmost point in the belt.
One of the brightest nebulae that has been observed, the Crab Nebula has a magnitude of 8.4, similar to that of the Saturnian moon Titan. This nebula lies within the Milky Way galaxy, about 6,500 light-years away from Earth.
The Carina Nebula, located in the southern skies, four times larger than the Orion Nebula, is one of the largest nebulae that has ever been observed. The Carina Nebula is so large, in fact, that other, smaller nebulae exist within it.
One such nebula inside of the Carina Nebula is the Keyhole Nebula, the shape of which looks like a bright tear through space. An even smaller nebula, humorously named the Defiant Finger, can be seen to the left of the Keyhole Nebula (pictured)
An old, sinister-looking nebula known as the Veil Nebula rests within the Cygnus constellation and is the result of a massive supernova explosion that occurred around 30,000 years ago.
One of the most strikingly beautiful nebulae in the sky, the unique double-ringed shape of the Engraved Hourglass Nebula was first observed in the early 1990s.
Located in the Scutum-Centaurus Arm of the Milky Way galaxy, the Trifid Nebula was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764.
Sources: (Go Astonomy) (Sky & Telescope) (NASA)
Exploring the most beautiful nebulae in the universe
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LIFESTYLE Space
The final, infinite frontier of space has captured the imagination of humanity since the days of prehistory, and it seems the more we learn about the universe, the more we realize just how little we actually understand it. From black holes to giant stars to distant planets, there are innumerable celestial objects out there for us to study, probe, and marvel at. Certainly, the most visually beautiful and awe-inspiring of all, are nebulae. Usually consisting of gasses and stardust dispersed by ancient explosions and implosions of stars known as supernovas, nebulae, when viewed through telescopes, take the form of heavenly celestial paint splashed across the deep, dark canvas of space.
Click on to see some of the most beautiful nebulae in the sky.