diffuse nebula
- noun
- /dɪˈfjus ˈnɛbjʊlə/
- Specialized
:
nebulosa difusa
- The Orion Nebula is a famous diffuse nebula that is easily visible with the naked eye.
- the bright diffuse nebula
Examples
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Astronomers study the light emitted by a diffuse nebula to understand the processes of star formation.
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Astronomers study the composition of a diffuse nebula to learn about the birth of new stars.
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Photographs of the Milky Way often highlight a glowing diffuse nebula among the star clusters.
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The Orion region contains a beautiful diffuse nebula visible to the naked eye under dark skies.
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The diffuse nebula glowed softly in the night sky.
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Many astronomers study the diffuse nebula for clues about star formation.
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The beautiful colors seen in images of the diffuse nebula come from the interaction of gas and light from nearby stars.
Synonyms
29
8.2
A large cloud of gas and dust in space that often looks like a bright patch in the sky
A bright cloud of gas and dust in space where new stars can form
How Bright
- Specialized
29
8.2
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is fully compositional: 'diffuse' means spread out or not concentrated and 'nebula' is an interstellar cloud, so a 'diffuse nebula' is simply a nebula that is faint or spread out. This follows the standard adjective + noun pattern and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the meaning.
Etymology
Diffuse nebula paints a picture of a 'spread-out' diffuse 'cloud' nebula of gas and dust lit by nearby stars, so it appears as a faint, hazy patch in the sky.