Cosmic Perspectives from Amid the Stars:
Astronomy Blog

Nebulae are among the most visually stunning sights in our universe. A nebula is simply a cloud of gas and dust found in outer space, and their varied shapes and colors make them spectacular phenomena for night sky viewing. They also play important roles in the life cycle of stars, as both a place of birth and a place of death.

There is an estimated septillion stars in the observable universe (that’s a one followed by 24 zeroes). They’re everywhere you look and come in all sorts of varieties. Every star is unique, but they all follow a similar life cycle. A star is a ball of gas, usually hydrogen and helium, that is so dense, it can fuse that hydrogen into heavier elements, creating energy. Depending on its size and rate of fusion, a star can live anywhere from a few million years to trillions of