How do nebulae get their shape?

The speed of the winds and how quickly a red giant loses mass as it slowly dies also play a role in making those shapes. Because planetary nebula shapes resemble these winds’ shapes, the researchers conclude that these same forces influence a nebula’s final shape, long before the nebula itself is created.

Why do nebulae have different shapes?

The wind from the PNN is faster than the wind from the red giant, and it impinges on the gas expelled from the red giant. Those interactions between stellar winds help create the wide variety of shapes on display in planetary nebulae.

What is the shape of a nebula?

A wide variety of shapes exist with some very complex forms seen. Planetary nebulae are classified by different authors into: stellar, disk, ring, irregular, helical, bipolar, quadrupolar, and other types, although the majority of them belong to just three types: spherical, elliptical and bipolar.

What is the difference between a supernova and a planetary nebula?

No, they are two entirely different things. A planetary nebula is born when a low mass star dies (low mass means less than about 8 times the mass of the Sun), while the supernova is the death of a massive star. The ejected envelope expands away from the central star and creates the nebula that we see.

What holds nebulae together?

In essence, a nebula is formed when portions of the interstellar medium undergo gravitational collapse. Mutual gravitational attraction causes matter to clump together, forming regions of greater and greater density.

Will the sun become a nebula?

Ultimately, most scientists believe that the Sun will become a planetary nebula. As is progresses though the red giant stage, the outer envelope of the Sun will be blown off into space. After it expels its outer layers, the core of the Sun will contract, and it will become a white dwarf.

What does a nebula consist of?

A nebula is an enormous cloud of dust and gas occupying the space between stars and acting as a nursery for new stars. The roots of the word come from Latin nebula, which means a “mist, vapor, fog, smoke, exhalation.” Nebulae are made up of dust, basic elements such as hydrogen and other ionized gases.

What is the difference between a planetary nebula and a nebula?

A: A nebula refers to clouds of dust and gas that lie between stars, in so-called interstellar space. A planetary nebula is a special type of nebula made when the outer layers of an old, giant star are thrown off into space.