By Ava (Grade 5)

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Nebulas include gases, dust, and complex molecules. When stars die
they lose their material to space.Their gases and dust mix with clouds of
gas creating the complex nebulas we see. Nebulas are always in
motion. Nebulas are enormous and are often referred to the star nurseries
because stars often form inside a nebula. Any nebula can range in size
from millions of miles across to hundreds of light years across.

When was the first nebula discovered? The first nebula that was
discovered was the Dumbbell Nebula, M27, by Charles Messier in
1764. Later in 1790, Herschel found NGC 1514, a planetary nebula with a
bright central star.
How old is a nebula? Now we estimate its distance from us as
somewhere as 1500 light years. In turn this puts our calculations of the
distance it has expanded to a lower number. This has dropped the age of a
nebula from 20,000 years to somewhere between 5,000-8,000 years old!