nebula

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nebula

the Crab Nebula, photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2005

neb·u·la

(nĕb′yə-lə)

n. pl. neb·u·lae (-lē′) or neb·u·las

1. Astronomy

a. A diffuse cloud of interstellar dust or gas or both, visible as luminous patches or areas of darkness depending on the way the mass absorbs or reflects incident light or emits its own light.

b. A galaxy. No longer in technical use.

2. Medicine

a. A cloudy spot on the cornea.

b. A liquid preparation for use in a nebulizer.

[Middle English nebule, cloud, mist, from Latin nebula; see nebh- in Indo-European roots.]

neb′u·lar adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

nebula

(ˈnɛbjʊlə)

n, pl -lae (-ˌliː) or -las

1. (Astronomy) astronomy a diffuse cloud of particles and gases (mainly hydrogen) that is visible either as a hazy patch of light (either an emission or a reflection nebula) or an irregular dark region against a brighter background (dark nebula). Compare planetary nebula

2. (Pathology) pathol

a. opacity of the cornea

b. cloudiness of the urine

3. (Medicine) any substance for use in an atomizer spray

[C17: from Latin: mist, cloud; related to Greek nephétē cloud, Old High German nebul cloud, Old Norse njól night]

ˈnebular adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

neb•u•la

(ˈnɛb yə lə)

n., pl. -lae (-ˌli, -ˌlaɪ)
-las.

a. a cloud of interstellar gas and dust.

b. (formerly) any distant celestial object that appears hazy or fuzzy.

2. Pathol.

a. a faint opacity in the cornea.

b. cloudiness in the urine.

[1655–65; < Latin: a mist, vapor, cloud; akin to Greek nephélē cloud, German Nebel fog, haze]

neb′u•lar, adj.

neb·u·la

(nĕb′yə-lə)

Plural nebulae (nĕb′yə-lē′) or nebulas

A thinly spread cloud of interstellar gas and dust. It will appear as a bright patch in the night sky if it reflects light from nearby stars, emits its own light, or re-emits ultraviolet radiation from nearby stars as visible light. If it absorbs light, the nebula appears as a dark patch. In dark nebulae, stars form from clumps of hydrogen gas. See more at star.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

nebula

A dust and gas cloud formed in space that is a source of stars. Sometimes used to refer to other galaxies, when their stars appear indistinct.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	nebula - a medicinal liquid preparation intended for use in an atomizer formulation, preparation - a substance prepared according to a formula; "the physician prescribed a commercial preparation of the medicine"
	2.	nebula - cloudiness of the urine symptom - (medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease
	3.	nebula - an immense cloud of gas (mainly hydrogen) and dust in interstellar space diffuse nebula, gaseous nebula - a cluster of stars within an intricate cloud of gas and dust planetary nebula - a nebula that was once thought to be a star with its planets but is now thought to be a very hot star surrounded by an expanding envelope of ionized gases that emit a fluorescent glow because of intense radiation from the star cloud - any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
	4.	nebula - (pathology) a faint cloudy spot on the cornea maculation, patch, speckle, dapple, fleck, spot - a small contrasting part of something; "a bald spot"; "a leopard's spots"; "a patch of clouds"; "patches of thin ice"; "a fleck of red" pathology - the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases

Translations

mlhovina

Nebel

kaasusumunebulatähtisumu

nébuleuse

nebulosa nebuloso

星雲

nebula

mgławica

nebulosa

туманность

nebula

[ˈnebjʊlə] N (nebulas or nebulae (pl)) [ˈnebjʊliː] → nebulosa f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

nebula

[ˈnɛbjʊlə] n → nébuleuse f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

nebula

n pl <-e>

(Astron) → Nebel m, → Nebelfleck m

(Med) → Trübung f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

nebula

[ˈnɛbjʊlə] n → nebulosa

neb·u·la

n. nébula, opacidad ligera de la córnea.

References in classic literature ?

Here is to be seen at work that powerful telescope which enabled Bond to resolve the nebula of Andromeda, and Clarke to discover the satellite of Sirius.

View in context

I knew that you could not say to yourself'stereotomy' without being brought to think of atomies, and thus of the theories of Epicurus; and since, when we discussed this subject not very long ago, I mentioned to you how singularly, yet with how little notice, the vague guesses of that noble Greek had met with confirmation in the late nebular cosmogony, I felt that you could not avoid casting your eyes upward to the great nebula in Orion, and I certainly expected that you would do so.

View in context

figure By TITUS MAERO Nairobi-based Little Prince on Saturday suffered a big blow when Nebulas Kakamega thrashed them 68-40 in a Kenya Basketball Federation men's National Division Two League match at Kakamega police canteen grounds.Little Prince Team Manager William Maundu was quick to attribute their defeat to lack of a full squad.

Nebulas cruise past Little Prince in KBF tie

Manama: Bahrain-based private equity investor Investcorp yesterday said it had acquired Nebulas Solutions, a British cybersecurity services firm.

Investcorp acquires Nebulas Solutions

Investcorp today announces that it has, together with its portfolio company SecureLink Group NV (SecureLink), acquired Nebulas Solutions Ltd .

Investcorp to acquire UK cybersecurity service provider Nebulas

Resembling bright bubbles, these diaphanous expanses of gas and dust belong to the category of astronomical phenomena known as nebulas. Unlike most of the nebulas that populate the universe, these clouds are limned by arcs or tings and bathed in the blue light emitted by helium ions.

Gorgeous gas: new observations of space clouds reveal stellar histories.

So named because astronomers a century ago thought their shape resembled that of planets, planetary nebulas have been studied since the 1890s.

Watching a dying star transform. (Astronomy)

Lord Rosse (see 1845), whose giant telescope had detected the spiral nebulas, studied the first nebulosity (M1) on the list Messier had prepared (see 1771).

Crab nebula

Mysterious smudges of light, known as nebulas, held a particular fascination for Herschel.

Journey through the universe: a gallery of observations

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