The nebula NGC 5189 is beautiful – but what exactly is it? This is a planetary nebula, which doesn’t actually have anything to do with planets. Astronomers saw this type of nebula in earlier telescopes and found many indistinct, cloudy forms. They called such objects “nebulae” – Latin for clouds. Some of the fuzzy objects resembled planets, and these earned the name planetary nebulae. Planetary nebulae like the one in this Reel represent the final stage in a medium-sized star’s life. While consu

Soar into the Eagle Nebula 🦅 This part of the nebula is called the Pillars of Creation. Giant columns of cold gas are bathed in the scorching ultraviolet light from a cluster of young, massive stars. The Pillars of Creation are about 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. Music credit: “Full Circle,” David Bramfitt [ASCAP], Open Note [ASCAP], Universal Production Music Video credits: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI); Acknowledgment: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA),

The Orion Nebula

The Bubble Nebula