Nebulae are among the most beautiful class of astronomical objects, and that is saying something indeed, for all astronomical objects are all of the purest beauty, that we can only look up in awe.
Omega Swan Nebula || Credit: NASA, ESA and J. Hester (ASU)
Turquoise light shining in the background, while catching the golden clouds, and sparkling stars shine through the scene. The turbulent gases in the Omega/Swan nebula (M17), captures the imagination of all who look upon it. It is a scene so familiar and yet so alien. It is like a cloudy sunset, and yet is luminous with colors alien to our skies. It is almost like a picture of heaven itself (though literally a picture of the heavens), and something that transcends mere words. Omega Nebula is also known as the Swan Nebula, and sits in the constellation Sagittarius
Combined X-Ray and Optical Images of the Crab Nebula
Credits for X-ray Image: NASA/CXC/ASU/J. Hester et al.
Credits for Optical Image: NASA/HST/ASU/J. Hester et al.
Like some alien creature the crab nebula, aptly named seems to sit in space poised to pounce. Its wispy form of purples and reds seems to surround it like a hard translucent shell. The crab nebula is a pulsar wind nebula. A fast spinning pulsar at its core (a highly magnetized rotating neutron stars) creates a strong solar wind that pushes the gas. The crab nebula is situated in the constellation of Taurus.
Eagle Nebula (M16) Pillar Detail: Portion of Top
Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
This is a close up of the top of the Eagle Nebula (one of the most famous nebulas) revealing the details at the top of the pillar of gas. Wispy ghostlike forms can be seen extruding from the main body of gas while the surface is dappled like ancient sandstone, giving this image an eerie quality. The eagle nebula is situated in the constellation Serpens.
Spitzer and Hubble Create Colorful Masterpiece of the Orion Nebula
Credit: NASA, ESA, T. Megeath (University of Toledo) and M. Robberto (STScI)
The Orion nebula is strangely reminiscent of its classical form. Gazing at it through spectrums other than visible light reveals the visage of a cloaked hunter stalking in the night. The Orion nebula is surely one of the most beautiful nebulae, filled with stunning colors and textures, so beautifully revealed to us through Hubble and Spitzer and through the use of false color to reveal to us what our eyes would be unable to see otherwise.
Star Cluster NGC 2074 in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio (STScI)
Wisps of black like black smoke against the blue green oceanic background. Nebulae are interstellar clouds of dust, hydrogen gas and plasma. As such they can often collapse down, an as all the matter comes together form new star systems. Our own solar system would have been born in a nebula just like those shown here. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a nearby satellite galaxy of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. At a distance of slightly less than 160,000 light-years the LMC is the third closest galaxy to the Milky Way,
Helix Nebula As Seen by Hubble and the Cerro Toledo Inter American Observatory.
Credit: NASA, ESA, C.R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University), and M. Meixner, P. McCullough.
The Helix nebula is a large planetary nebula, that is situated in zodiac constellation of Aquarius. Planetary nebulae consist of a glowing shell of gas and plasma expelled by stars when they die. Because of this planetary nebulae are an important part of the lifecycle of matter and effect the chemical evolution of the galaxy. They return material enriched in heavy elements and other products of nucleosynthesis (such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and calcium) back into interstellar space where they lie in the great nebulae (the nurseries of stars) until finally the gases come together to form new stars.
Nebulae are amongst the most beautiful and awe inspiring objects in the universe. We can only look forward to advances in astronomy and technology that allow us to look at these magnificent structures in even more detail.
