nebula

noun neb·u·la \ ˈne-byə-lə \

|Updated on: 16 Aug 2018

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of nebula

plural nebulae play \ˈne-byə-ˌlē, -ˌlī\ also nebulas

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

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

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nebular

play \ˈne-byə-lər\ adjective

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Recent Examples of nebula from the Web

The drag of the still-present nebula gas affects how the debris moves through the solar system, sending a fraction of them inward towards the inner solar system.

— nola taylor redd, Smithsonian, "How Jupiter May Have Gifted Early Earth With Water," 20 June 2018
The nebula's contents are still, these centuries later, lit.

— sarah scoles, WIRED, "The Woman Who Knows Everything About the Universe," 4 Apr. 2018
The nebula, located 20,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Carina, contains a central cluster of huge, hot stars, called NGC 3603, the space agency said.

— erin kelly, USA TODAY, "NASA releases image of 'celestial fireworks' in honor of Independence Day," 4 July 2018
Expert skywatchers are on hand to point out planets, moons, nebulas and other galaxies.

— dewayne bevil, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orlando Science Center plans late nights, stargazing sessions," 3 July 2018
There’s a lot that scientists can do with that information, including match stars with the nebula that gave birth to them.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Are Searching For Our Sun's Stellar Siblings," 23 Apr. 2018
Shaped by its birth star's high-energy light and interstellar winds, the nebula rests about 650 light-years away from Earth.

— National Geographic, "The Giant Squid Nebula and More Animals of the Cosmos," 20 Mar. 2018
The nebula our sun produces won't be as bright as the ones produced by bigger stars.

— david freeman /, NBC News, "Now we know what will happen when the sun dies," 10 May 2018
Indeed, at least three galaxies and six nebulae are named after warm-blooded vertebrates, including the Horsehead, Cat’s Paw, and recently named Manatee Nebulae.

— National Geographic, "The Giant Squid Nebula and More Animals of the Cosmos," 20 Mar. 2018

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.

Did You Know?

Nebula comes to us from Latin, where it meant "mist" or "cloud." In its earliest English uses in the 1600s, nebula referred to a cloudy speck or film on the eye that caused vision problems. It was first applied to great interstellar clouds of gas and dust in the early 1700s. The adjective nebulous comes from the same Latin root as nebula, but the first uses of nebulous don't appear in English until the late 1700s, well after the discovery of interstellar nebulae.