NASA / JPL / Hubble Space Telescope
Scientific Discovery
Stellar Nurseries: the Nebulae Shaping New Worlds
Nebulae are where everything begins and, eventually, where everything ends. They are the clouds of gas and dust from which new stars condense under the pull of gravity, and they are the shredded remains of stars that have exhausted their fuel and expelled their outer layers into space. What makes them so visually extraordinary is that the same physical processes that produce such devastating violence — a star exploding with the energy of a billion suns — also produce some of the most ethereal and intricate structures in the known universe. The colour-coded images in this collection translate wavelengths of light beyond human vision into something the eye can grasp — and what we grasp is transcendent.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a stellar nursery?
A stellar nursery is a region within a nebula where gas and dust collapse under gravity to form new stars, often in clusters.
How do nebulae give birth to new stars?
Within a nebula, dense pockets of gas and dust collapse due to gravity, heating up until nuclear fusion ignites, creating a protostar that eventually becomes a main-sequence star.
What are the main types of nebulae that act as stellar nurseries?
The primary types are emission nebulae, which glow from ionized gas, and dark nebulae, which appear as opaque clouds where new stars are forming.
Which famous nebula is a well-known stellar nursery?
The Orion Nebula (M42) is one of the most famous stellar nurseries, located about 1,300 light-years away and actively forming young stars.
Do planets form in stellar nurseries as well?
Yes, planets form in the same protoplanetary disks of gas and dust that surround young stars within stellar nurseries, eventually coalescing into planetary systems.
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