A Nebula is an interstellar cloud mixed with dust particles, helium, and hydrogen. It also contains a number of other ionized gases. It is like an ever expanding large mass which picks up other matter as it travels an eventually gathers enough of it to form a star. Nebula’s are located inside the inner sanctum of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Nebulae can only be seen at a short distance from the sun (between 400 and 10,000 light years), Galaxy dust prevents most nebulae from being seen.

Some Nebula’s contain so much matter they look like a planet. Planetary nebulae consist of an extremely hot star surrounded by a tenuous shell of ionized gas. Most of them have a very small apparent diameter of 1 arc min or less, which makes them very difficult to image with some details. 95% of all stars that we see in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, will ultimately become “planetary nebulae”. This includes the Sun. Nebulae come in various shapes and sizes. The word “nebula” is from the Latin word meaning “cloud”.

Here is a list of all of the different Nebulae…

Ant Nebula
Barnard’s Loop Nebula
Boomerang Nebula
Bubble Nebula
Bug Nebula
Butterfly Nebula
Carina Nebula
Cat’s Eye Nebula
Cat’s Paw Nebula
Cave Nebula
Christmas Tree Nebula
Cirrus Nebula
Cocoon Nebula
Cone Nebula
Crab Nebula
Crescent Nebula
Cygnus Loop Nebula
Doradus Nebula
Dumbbell Nebula
Eagle Nebula
Egg Nebula
Elephant’s Trunk Nebula
Eskimo Nebula
Eta Carina Nebula
Eye of God
Flame Nebula
Fox Fur Nebula
God’s Eye Nebula
Great Nebula in Carina
Gum Nebula
Heart Nebula
Helix Nebula
Horsehead Nebula
Hourglass Nebula
Keyhole Nebula
Kronberger 61 Nebula
Lagoon Nebula
Little Ghost Nebula
Necklace Nebula
North America Nebula
Omega Nebula
Orion Nebula
Pelican Nebula
Pencil Nebula
Red Rectangular Nebula
Red Square Nebula
Ring Nebula
Rosette Nebula
Seagull Nebula
Spirograph Nebula
Stingray Nebula
Swan Nebula
Tarantula Nebula
Triangulum Nebula
Trifid Nebula
V838 Monocerotis
Veil Nebula
Wizard Nebula