Getting to Know the Nebula: Definition, Location, and Their Relationship to the Stars All

KOMPAS.com – Nebula is a giant cloud of interstellar gas that plays a key role in the life cycle bintang.

In the context of astronomy, nebula refers to any celestial body that looks like a cloud when viewed through a telescope.

When telescopes weren’t as powerful as they are today, the term included galaxies like Earth’s neighbor, Andromeda, which is often referred to as the Andromeda nebula.

As telescopes became more and more sophisticated, it was discovered that galaxies are not at all like clouds, but are made up of billions of stars. That is, astronomers define a nebula for the original cloud, gas and dust, located within the Milky Way galaxy.

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nebula location

Nebulae are often found in interstellar space, known as the interstellar medium. On average, this region contains only about one atom per cubic centimeter.

However, in certain places the density can be much higher than this, high enough to be visible through a telescope. As a result, the nebula became one of the most spectacular sights in astronomy.

There are several different types of nebulae, depending on how they were formed and their composition. However, the majority of nebulae are primarily made of gas that is able to glow with its own light, creating the colorful appearance known to man.

However, other nebulae, such as the dark nebula, are much more dusty in composition. Instead of shining, this dust has the effect of blocking light from objects farther outside.

Also read: Secrets of the Universe: What is a Nebula, a Phenomenon in the Darkness of Space?

The relationship between nebulae and stars

Nebulae play a key role in the life cycle of stars, both at birth and at death. Bintang born in dense clumps of gas, dust, and other material in a diffuse emission nebula, also known as a stellar nursery.

The main force at work here is gravity, causing the loose interstellar medium to condense into a nebula, and gravity causing the clumps within the nebula to collapse into stars.

At the other end of stellar life, a different type of emission nebula is found. Stars like the sun end their lives as white dwarfs.

When it shrinks into this phase, it releases a cloud of gas that forms a planetary nebula, but has nothing to do with the planet.

Also read: Caught by Lapan’s Lens, What Is a Nebula Phenomenon Like Colorful Clouds?

Not all stars end their lives in the relative calm of planetary nebulae.

A star much larger than the sun will eventually explode as a supernova, and the debris thrown out of the explosion forms another type of nebula called a supernova remnant.

The Crab Nebula is a spectacular remnant of the famous supernova, which was observed by Chinese astronomers in 1054.

To capture the spectacular nature of the nebula, the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope used the infrared radiation emitted by the nebula to create images.

Also read: Hubble Telescope Captures Mysterious Nebula Sighting

Visible light emitted by stars that form in and around the nebula can be blocked by the dense cosmic gas and dust clouds that make up the nebula.

So scientists had to look into other wavelengths of light the nebula emitted, such as infrared radiation.

Utilizing Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), telescopic head James Webb has captured one of the most detailed images of the nebula.

The James Webb telescope’s infrared camera has captured several images of nebulae, one of which is the Southern Ring planetary nebula otherwise known as NGC 3132, which is about 2,500 light-years from Earth and home to a dying star at its core.

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