nebula

noun

neb·u·la | \ ˈne-byə-lə

plural nebulae\ ˈne-byə-ˌlē

, -ˌlī \ also nebulas

Definition of nebula

1 : any of numerous clouds of gas or dust in interstellar space

2 : galaxy sense 1b especially : a galaxy other than the Milky Way galaxy —not used technically

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Examples of nebula in a Sentence

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The European Southern Observatory's VLT Survey Telescope captured the details and features that comprise the nebula resembling a gull. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Telescope captures cosmic Seagull Nebula in flight," 7 Aug. 2019 It is illuminated by the young stars nestled in its core — despite being shrouded by opaque clouds of dust, their bright rays still illuminate the nebula. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Jupiter's new portrait snapped by Hubble," 8 Aug. 2019 She got chased out of her nebula by a bully named Lewis and needs help. — Angela Watercutter, WIRED, "This 8-Minute Galactic Primer Is the Future of AR Education," 26 Aug. 2019 This is called an emission nebula, where stars can be seen forming. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Telescope captures cosmic Seagull Nebula in flight," 7 Aug. 2019 The vivid colors of the nebula are due to the radiation given off by the juvenile stars. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Telescope captures cosmic Seagull Nebula in flight," 7 Aug. 2019 Over the course of thousands of years, gravity causes pockets of dense matter inside the nebula to collapse under their own weight. — Catherine Zuckerman, National Geographic, "Everything you wanted to know about stars," 20 Mar. 2019 That became my best opportunity for special photos, and the nebula-like blooms proved stunning. — Eric Adams, Popular Mechanics, "Here's What It Looked Like to Watch the World's Most Powerful Rocket Launch," 25 June 2019 It is illuminated by the young stars nestled in its core — despite being shrouded by opaque clouds of dust, their bright rays still illuminate the nebula. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Hubble spies a spiral galaxy blooming like roses 70 million light-years away," 8 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nebula.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.