Clouds and Nebula
“It’s cloud’s illusions I recall,
I really don’t know clouds at all.”
Clouds and nebula create wondrous images. Named after the Latin word for “cloud”, nebulae are not only massive clouds of dust, hydrogen and helium gas, and plasma; they are also often “stellar nurseries” – i.e. the place where stars are born. We are learning that some may be the birthplace of life.
Nebula are measured in light years in size and light years in distance from us. The first planetary nebula, discovered in 1764, was the Dumbbell Nebula which is large in size and quite bright. It is a popular object among amateur astronomers, as it can be seen in binoculars and small telescopes. In 1790, Herschel found NGC 1514, a planetary nebula with a bright central dying star.
On a clear night, we can see stars, perhaps the moon, perhaps one or more planets. Clouds in space are a bit harder to see than many of the bright objects, but they can be the most interesting objects in the sky. One kind of nebulae seen by early observers was a spiral nebula first seen in 1845.. In 1889, Vincent Van Gogh painted the famous ‘Starry Night’ which includes a spiral shape in the sky.
Types of nebula include:
Galaxies. …Globular Clusters. …Open Clusters. …Emission Nebulae. …Reflection Nebulae. …Dark Nebulae. …Planetary Nebulae. …Supernova Remnants.
An iconic celestial image in astronomy that the GroundedMystic.com has adopted is the eye-like Helix Nebula Also called the Eye of God Nebula.
The Famous “Eye of God” Nebula May Actually Be Weeping Tears Of Water.
The incredibly harsh conditions within this dying Sun-like star once thought to prohibit conditions for life are producing a molecule integral for the formation of water, a process that could be repeated across the cosmos. Nebular clouds are now thought to be most likely environment for synthesizing and promoting the evolution of molecules needed for the origin of life.
1 Lyrics from Both Sides Now. Songwriters: Joni Mitchell Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Crazy Crow Music / Siquomb Music Publishing
In June 2014 George Dvorsky filed this to SPACE. https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-famous-eye-of-god-nebula-may-actually-be-weeping-1592005991