Kabir: Welcome back everyone to the Interstellar podcast, where we unravel the deepest secrets of

outer space! Today we are here with a very special guest who will be guiding us through the
wonderful concept of nebulae. Miss Arani Dasgupta will now take over to explain what exactly
nebulae are and how they are formed.

Arani: Nebula is simply a giant cloud of dust and gas in space, the word nebula is Latin for cloud or
fog. Some nebulae are formed from the dust and gas thrown out by a dying star, in a ‘supernova’
(LONG PAUSE HERE). Nebulae are also found in regions where new stars are beginning to form. This
is why some nebulae are called ‘star nurseries’.

Kabir: But how does a nebula form a star?

Arani: Nebulae are made of dust and gases—mostly hydrogen and helium. The dust and gases in a
nebula are very spread out, but gravity can slowly begin to pull together clumps of dust and gas. As
these clumps get bigger and bigger, their gravity gets stronger and stronger. Eventually, the clump of
dust and gas gets so big that it collapses from its own gravity. The collapse causes the material at the
centre of the cloud to heat up-and this hot core is the beginning of a star. Even the sun itself formed
in a nebula, and at some stage in the far future the sun will become a nebula.

Kabir: Where are nebulae commonly found?

Arani: Nebulae exist in the space between the stars.

Kabir: Oh, you mean interstellar space?

Arani: Yes, that is what it is called. The closest known nebula to Earth is called the Helix Nebula. It is
the remnant of a dying star, like the sun possibly. It is approximately 700 lightyears away from Earth!
Meaning even at the speed of light, it would take 700 years to get there. It formed when a dying star
threw off its outer layers which are gradually expanding into space. They are called planetary
nebulae because astronomers originally believed they were new planets, due to their often-spherical
shapes. The Helix Nebula is around 100 times more distant than the nearest stars, excluding the sun.

Kabir: Interesting. It takes very powerful telescopes to take pictures of nebulae. Space telescopes
such as NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope can help catch pictures of
faraway nebulae. Nebulae must be humongous!

Arani: Yes, most nebulae are of vast size; some are hundreds of light-years in diameter. A nebula that
is visible to the human eye from Earth would appear larger, but no brighter, from close by. The Orion
Nebula, the brightest nebula in the sky and occupying an area twice the angular diameter of the full
Moon, can be viewed with the naked eye but was missed by early astronomers.

Kabir: Well then, what is the largest nebula in our night sky?

Arani: The Tarantula Nebula is the largest and brightest star-forming region. It can be seen in the
constellation Dorado. It is home to the hottest, most massive stars known. Pictures of The Tarantula
were taken by the James Webb telescope.

Kabir: Fascinating. Nebulae are truly beautiful to look at.

Arani: True, Nebulae form in different shapes and sizes over billions of years making up wonderful
sights. A Nebula’s appearance can change quite a lot over its lifetime. Nebulae are always in motion
even though they don’t seem to be very active in images.

Kabir: Wow that sound’s interesting.

Arani: And did you know that the coldest place in our universe is thought to be in the Boomerang
nebula? The average temperature there is -272°C.

Kabir: There’s even a theory that our solar system, and everything in it, was formed by a solar nebula
around 4.5 billion years ago! But of course, there are many nebulae which are not present in our
galaxy.

Arani: Yes, we refer to those as Extra-Galactic Nebulae.

Kabir: Well. I’ve also heard that there are many different types of Nebulae. Would you like to explain
some of them?

Arani: Sure. Planetary nebulae, despite their name, don’t have anything to do with planets. In fact,
they are only called so because of their relatively round appearance, compared to other nebulae
which have chaotic patchy shapes. There are believed to be about 20,000 objects called planetary
nebulae in the Milky Way Galaxy

Arani: Reflection nebulae are clouds of interstellar dust which might reflect the light of a nearby star
or stars and do not emit their own light.

Kabir: Oh yes! And there is Emission Nebula, which are cosmic clouds which emit their own light,
unlike reflection nebula which reflect starlight.

Arani: Exactly. They are mostly made of hydrogen gas that is ionized by the ultraviolet radiation from
hot, young stars inside or nearby the nebulae. They come in various shapes, sizes, and colours,
depending on the density, temperature, and composition of the stars that excite it.

Kabir: Interesting. Are there any other types?

Arani: Finally... there is Dark Nebula (LONG PAUSE). Dark Nebula is also called absorption nebula and
is so dense that it obscures the visible wavelength of light from objects behind it, such as stars or
reflection and emission nebulae. The extinction of the light is caused by interstellar dust grains
located in the coldest, densest parts of molecular clouds. Dark nebulae are found in clusters and
large complexes. Isolated Dark Nebulae are called Bok Globules.

Kabir: Wow amazing. Miss Arani Dasgupta thank you so much for joining us here. This was a very
insightful experience into the mysterious nebulae. Here’s a quick recap of everything we have
discussed, Nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space. They are formed from the dust and gas
thrown out by a dying star but can also be found where new stars are beginning to form. Nebulas
come in different shapes and sizes and are always in motion. There are different types of nebulae
such as Planetary Nebulae, which are round, Reflection Nebulae, which reflect the light of a nearby
star. Emission Nebulae which emit their own light and Dark Nebulae which absorbs all visible
wavelengths of light. Thank You everyone for listening in and we will see you next time on the
Interstellar Podcast!