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Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula. In these regions, the formations of gas, dust, and other materials "clump" together to form denser regions, which attract further matter and eventually become dense enough to form stars.
Reflection nebula are usually blue because the scattering is more efficient for blue light than red (this is the same scattering process that gives us blue skies and red sunsets). Reflection nebulae and emission nebulae are often seen together and are sometimes both referred to as diffuse nebulae. Some 500 reflection nebulae are known.
Planetary nebulae, represented here by the Ring Nebula, are examples of emission nebulae. An emission nebula is a nebula formed of ionized gases that emit light of various wavelengths. The most common source of ionization is high-energy ultraviolet photons emitted from a nearby hot star .
A dark nebula or absorption nebula is a type of interstellar cloud, particularly molecular clouds, that is so dense that it obscures the visible wavelengths of light from objects behind it, such as background stars and emission or reflection nebulae.
This theoretically means these nebula shapes might be affected by their central progenitor stars and the amount of matter ejected by novae. [1] The shapes of these nova nebulae are of much interest to modern astrophysicists. [1] [4] Nova remnants when compared to supernova remnants or planetary nebulae generate
The Red Rectangle Nebula, so called because of its red color and unique rectangular shape, is a protoplanetary nebula in the Monoceros constellation.Also known as HD 44179, the nebula was discovered in 1973 during a rocket flight associated with the AFCRL Infrared Sky Survey called Hi Star.
It is located 7,000 light-years away, in the Eagle Nebula. [8] There are multiple elephant trunks in the formation, one of which is approximately seven light-years long. Astronomers have made observations suggesting that the Pillars were possibly destroyed by the shock waves of a supernova 6,000 years ago. [9]
The Trifid Nebula was the subject of an investigation by astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope in 1997, using filters that isolate emission from hydrogen atoms, ionized sulfur atoms, and doubly ionized oxygen atoms. The images were combined into a false-color composite picture to suggest how the nebula might look to the eye.