nebula

noun

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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

Recent Examples on the Web And as a result, more mesmerizing and outré, like some kind of musical nebula. — Ben Flanagan | Bflanagan@al.com, al, "Here are Alabama’s 2020 Entertainers of the Year," 31 Dec. 2020 Like a night light for big kids, the small device projects a galaxy of vivid stars (not to mention a nebula cloud) onto the ceiling or wall, perfect for lulling your teen to sleep or providing an ultra-cool backdrop to a sleepover. — Courtney Thompson, CNN Underscored, "37 gifts even the coolest teens will love," 3 Dec. 2020 And because most stars originate as binaries that collide, the blue ring nebula fills in an important midpoint of the timeline from massive debris cloud to clear, shining star. — Theresa Machemer, Smithsonian Magazine, "Astronomers Crack the Case of the Blue Ring Nebula," 23 Nov. 2020 The first believes that chondrules were among the first solid objects to appear in the solar system, forming directly from the solar nebula—the cloud of dust and gas that surrounded our young sun. — Jonathan O'callaghan, Scientific American, "Asteroid Dust from Hayabusa2 Could Solve a Mystery of Planet Creation," 8 Dec. 2020 Metzger suggested that the blue ring nebula, with its strange cones and dust disk, could represent the events just a few thousand years after the collision of two stars. — Theresa Machemer, Smithsonian Magazine, "Astronomers Crack the Case of the Blue Ring Nebula," 23 Nov. 2020 With the star’s history of violent outbursts and possibility to explode, should astronomers really be firing lasers at the heart of the nebula? — Tim Childers, Popular Mechanics, "Why Scientists Are Shooting Lasers at This Extremely Badass Nebula," 23 Nov. 2020 One has a giant space station at the center, which blocks the line of sight between the opposing sides, while another is in a nebula littered with debris. — Brittany Vincent, CNN Underscored, "Star Wars: Squadrons is a modern take on the X-Wing series," 1 Oct. 2020 Because the park has no light pollution and a low dust count, visitors can spot with a naked eye such celestial wonders as asteroids, the Orion nebula, meteor showers and the Milky Way. — Washington Post, "In a Dark Sky park in Pennsylvania, reaching for the stars from a rooftop tent," 17 July 2020

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.