nebula
nounCA, US, UK, SC /ˈnɛb.jə.lə/ · AU, NZ, UK /ˈneb.jə.lə/
Etymology Learned borrowing from Latin nebula (“little cloud, mist”). First attested in 1655. Akin to Ancient Greek νεφέλη (nephélē, “cloud”), German Nebel (“mist, nebula”), Old Norse nifl, Polish niebo (“sky, heaven”), Russian не́бо (nébo, “sky”).
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Astronomy, Natural sciences A cloud in outer space consisting of gas or dust (e.g. a cloud formed after a star explodes).
- Approximately 5 billion years ago, our solar nebula was formed as gravitational forces pulled interstellar gas and dust into a swirling mass around out newly formed sun.2012, Chinle Miller, In Mesozoic Lands: The Mesozoic Geology of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Kindle edition:
- Derived terms
- Crab Nebula, dark nebula, diffuse nebula, emission nebula, enormous Lyman-alpha nebula, nebulalike, nebulium, nebulization, planetary nebula, preplanetary nebula, protoplanetary nebula, pulsar wind nebula, reflection nebula, solar nebula, stellar nebula, supernebula
- Related terms
- nebulosity, nebulous, nebular, plerion, nova remnant, supernova remnant, Herbig-Haro object, Bok globule, interstellar cloud, intergalactic cloud, high velocity cloud