Cosmic Clouds: Exploring Nebulae for Children : Astronomy for Kids - FreeSchool [NEW/IMPROVED]

You're welcome, space is vast and full of secrets of all the incredible objects that scientists have discovered. Among the stars, some of the most spectacular are the

nebulae

scattered throughout the galaxy, these vast

clouds

have captivated the minds of astronomers. and stargazers for centuries. The birthplace of stars and planets, they contain clues to the formation and evolution of our galaxy and these vast

cosmic

clouds

have a serene and fascinating beauty, although most

nebulae

are completely invisible to the naked eye, modern telescopes can give us views of close to some. One of the most impressive objects in the universe.

The Greek word for cloud is actually an interstellar cloud of dust and gas. They are composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, but may also contain other gases and

cosmic

dust. The exact composition of a nebula. It can vary depending on its location and the processes that formed it like clouds in the sky nebulae come in interesting shapes like flowers insects animals or people this is how many of them get their names there are four main types of nebulae first they are forming stars regions Also known as stellar nurseries in these huge areas of hydrogen gas, gravity pulls the material together into larger clumps which in turn attract more material, more and more gases squeeze together tighter, causing it to get hotter and hotter. when it gets hot enough. a new star, what is left can become planets that surround it, an example of a star forming region and one of the most famous nebulae in the sky is the Orion Nebula.

The Orion Nebula is the most active star-forming area in our galaxy, although it is visible to the naked eye it is only a vague glow through a telescope the extent of its wonder becomes visible The Orion Nebula is 15 light years in diameter and it is composed mainly of hydrogen when you look at this nebula you are looking at stars that are born this The nebula gets its glow from something called a trapezium, a cluster of four stars each thousands of times brighter than our sun. Their energy has cleared a space in the gases that surround them.

You can see that other stars are also being born inside the nebula. These ovals are blankets. of dust surrounding the newborn stars, the rings inside are probably new planetary systems forming around these stars 300 light years away, the Orion Nebula is just a small gleam on Orion's sword, Second, there are planetary nebulae, this kind of nebula really has nothing to do with it. with planets, but when early astronomers saw them through their telescopes, they looked so round and bright that they thought they must be planets. Planetary nebulae form from the slow death of ordinary stars near the end of their lives.

Some stars are beginning to shed their outer layers. In space, these layers are made primarily of hydrogen gas, but as the star begins to die, other elements are also produced, including oxygen, carbon, and iron. The hot core of the dying star illuminates the material, causing it to glow as layers of gas and dust expand. they create beautiful, colorful clouds that can manifest in many different forms as the layers of gas and dust expand they create beautiful, colorful clouds that can manifest in many different forms one of the most famous examples of a planetary nebula is the Helix Nebula, Also known as The Eye of God, it is located about 700 light years from Earth and is one of the closest planetary nebulae to us.

From afar it looks like a giant glowing eye. Up close, the Helix Nebula is a fantastic sight with intricate patterns and thousands of streamers. of glowing gas extending towards its center, this beautiful object is known as the butterfly nebula and is another example of a planetary nebula, although from afar it appears peaceful and like a delicate butterfly, it is actually made of angry clouds of gas heated to more than 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit for comparison which is more than three times hotter than the surface of the Sun the gas is also in motion moving at more than six hundred thousand miles per hour at that speed you could go from the Earth to the Moon in just 24 minutes A final famous example of a planetary nebula is the Cat's Eye Nebula.

It is a little further from Earth at about 3,000 light years, but it is still one of the brightest planetary nebulae in the sky. The Cat's Eye Nebula is made up of several rings. of gas each with a different color and pattern the central star is so hot that it has ionized the gas around it creating a bright blue color in the middle of the nebula the third type of nebulae are sometimes called supernova remnants when a star die no It doesn't die slowly, it dies with a bang. A supernova is a large explosion that spreads the star's material across a huge expanse of space.

The remains form a nebula that over time can collect and form new stars. The Crab Nebula is an example of The supernova remnant of this nebula is especially exciting because we know that when the star that created it exploded almost a thousand years ago, Chinese astronomers noticed a bright new star in the sky, it stayed there for almost two years and then slowly disappeared. Modern astronomers studying the Crab Nebula took notice. that the bright temporal star described in the ancient record was an excellent match for the supernova that would have created the Crab Nebula. Knowing when the star became Nova allowed scientists to learn a lot about how this type of nebula develops, in addition to the Crab.

Nebula There are many other supernova remnants found throughout our galaxy, each with their own unique characteristics and properties. Some of the most famous supernova remnants include the Veil Nebula, the remnant of a supernova that occurred about 5,000 years ago, and the famous Nova taikos, a nebula formed by a supernova that was observed in 1572. The fourth type of nebulae are dark nebulae. A dark nebula, also called an absorption nebula, is a cloud of gas and dust that is only visible because of bright nebulae and the stars behind it, usually much denser than bright dark nebulae. nebulae are difficult to observe because they do not produce their own light like a shadow or a silhouette they take their shape from the light we do not see one of the most famous dark nebulae is the Horsehead Nebula, it is easy to see where this nebula got its name , the Horsehead Nebula, is made up of thick dust clouds so dense that they block the light from the stars behind them.

Just because the cloud is dark does not mean that it is cold by looking at the nebula through an infrared camera that allows us to observe the By the heat it gives off, we can see that the Horsehead Nebula is very hot, in fact, there are even bright spots visible signs that show where new stars are forming, no matter what type they are. Nebulae are among the most dazzling celestial objects that can be found in the sky. They are a window into the life cycle of the universe. In the end, the same raw materials that form stars are left behind when stars die to form new stars and the cycle begins again.