A nebula (from Latin: "cloud";[1] pl.

nebulae or nebul, with ligature or nebulas) is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas, helium gas and other ionized gases. Originally, nebula was a general name for any extended astronomical object, including galaxies beyond the Milky Way (some examples of the older usage survive; for example, the Andromeda Galaxy was referred to as the Andromeda Nebula before galaxies were discovered by Edwin Hubble). Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Eagle Nebula. This nebula is depicted in one of NASA's most famous images, the "Pillars of Creation". In these regions the formations of gas, dust, and other materials "clump" together to form larger masses, which attract further matter, and eventually will become massive enough to form stars. The remaining materials are then believed to form planets, and other planetary system objects.

History
Around A.D. 150, Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy) recorded, in books VII-VIII of his Almagest, five stars that appeared nebulous. He also noted a region of nebulosity between the constellations Ursa Major and Leo that was not associated with any star.[2] The first true nebula, as distinct from a star cluster, was mentioned by the Persian astronomer, Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, in his Book of Fixed Stars (964).[3] He noted "a little cloud" where the Andromeda Galaxy is located.[4] He also cataloged the Omicron Velorum star cluster as a "nebulous star" and other nebulous objects, such as Brocchi's Cluster.[3] The supernova that created the Crab Nebula, the SN 1054, was observed by Arabic and Chinese astronomers in 1054.

Formation
Many nebulae or stars form from the gravitational collapse of gas in the interstellar medium or ISM. As the material collapses under its own weight, massive stars may form in the center, and their ultraviolet radiation ionises the surrounding gas, making it visible at optical wavelengths. Examples of these types of nebulae are the Rosette Nebula and the Pelican Nebula. The size of these nebulae, known as HII regions, varies depending on the size of the original cloud of gas. New stars are formed in the nebulas. The formed stars are sometimes known as a young, loose [Link] nebulae are formed as the result of supernova explosions, the death throes of massive, short-lived stars. The materials thrown off from the supernova explosion are ionized by the energy and the compact object that it can produce. One of the best examples of this is the Crab Nebula, in Taurus. The supernova event was recorded in the year 1054 and is labelled SN 1054. The compact object that was created after the explosion lies in the center of the Crab Nebula and is a neutron star.
Classical types

Nebulae are classified in four major groups(stars). Galaxies and globular clusters were previously thought to be other types of nebulae. Spiral nebula were used to explain the spiral structures of galaxies.
H II regions, which encompass diffuse nebulae, bright nebulae, and reflection nebulae. Planetary nebulae Supernova remnant Dark nebula

Diffuse Nebulae

Most nebulae can be described as diffuse nebulae, which means that they are extended and contain no well-defined boundaries.[13] In visible light these nebulae may be divided into emission nebulae and reflection nebulae, a classification that depends on how the light we see is created. Emission nebulae contain ionized gas (mostly ionized hydrogen) that produces spectral line emission.[14] These emission nebulae are often called HII regions; the term "HII" is used in professional astronomy to refer to ionized hydrogen. In contrast to emission nebulae, reflection nebulae do not produce significant amounts of visible light by themselves but instead reflect light from nearby stars.[14]
Planetary nebulae

Planetary nebulae are nebulae that form from the gaseous shells that are ejected from low-mass asymptotic giant branch stars when they transform into white dwarfs.[14] These nebulae are emission nebulae with spectral emission that is similar to the emission nebulae found in star formation regions.[14] Technically, they are an HII region because most hydrogen

will be ionized. However, planetary nebulae are denser and more compact than the emission nebulae in star formation regions.[14] Planetary nebulae are so called because the first astronomers who observed these objects thought the nebulae resembled the disks of planets, although they are not related to planets. Our Sun is believed to become one of these 12 billion years after the Sun's formation.[15]
Protoplanetary nebula Main article: protoplanetary nebula

A protoplanetary nebula (PPN) is an astronomical object which is at the short-lived episode during a star's rapid stellar evolution between the late asymptotic giant branch (LAGB) phase and the following planetary nebula (PN) phase.[16] During the AGB phase, the star undergoes mass loss, emitting a circumstellar shell of hydrogen gas. When this phase comes to an end, the star enters the PPN phase. The PPN is energized by the central star, causing it to emit strong infrared radiation and become a reflection nebula. Collaminated stellar winds from the central star shape and shock the shell into an axially symmetric form, while producing a fast moving molecular wind.[17] The exact point when a PPN becomes a planetary nebula (PN) is defined by the temperature of the central star. The PPN phase continues until the central star reaches a temperature of 30,000 K, after which is it hot enough to ionize the surrounding gas.[18]
Supernova remnants

A supernova occurs when a high-mass star reaches the end of its life. When nuclear fusion in the core of the star stops, the star collapses. The gas falling inward either rebounds or gets so strongly heated that it expands outwards from the core, thus causing the star to explode.[14] The expanding shell of gas forms a supernova remnant, a special diffuse nebula. [14] Although much of the optical and X-ray emission from supernova remnants originates from ionized gas, a great amount of the radio emission is a form of non-thermal emission called synchrotron emission.[14] This emission originates from high-velocity electrons oscillating within magnetic fields.

Omega Nebula

Horse Head Flame

Cat Eye Nebula

Triangulum Emission Garren Nebula

Carine Nebula Nebular Knot Formation

Helix Nebula Formation of a Nebula

Ring Nebula

Eskimo Nebula

The Red Rectangle Nebula

The Crab Nebula

Formation of the Orion Nebula Orion Nebula

Fly Nebula