Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A nebula, often circular or ring shaped, formed by the ejection of the outer layers from a late-stage, low-mass star.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun astronomy A
nebulosity surrounding a dying star, consisting of material expelled by the star.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun 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
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Coined by William Herschel because of their apparent resemblance to the planet Uranus.
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