The Lagoon Nebula (M8), located approximately 4,100 light-years away in Sagittarius, is visible to the naked eye under dark skies. Giovanni Battista Hodierna first documented the nebula in 1654, ...

Nebula are giant clouds of interstellar gas that play a key role in the life-cycle of stars. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. A ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. An award-winning reporter writing about stargazing and the night sky. It’s one of the most common words used by astronomers—and ...

The interaction of two doomed stars has created this spectacular ring adorned with bright clumps of gas ­– a diamond necklace of cosmic proportions. Fittingly known as the “Necklace Nebula,” this ...

The decades-long mystery of a never-ending explosion of X-rays around the remains of a dead star may have finally been solved. The radiation probably originates from the scorching-hot wreckage left ...

The world's largest telescope captured a deep-space nebula — an interstellar cloud of gas and dust that can produce new stars — in stunning detail, providing the first close-up view to date of the ...

The Ring Nebula (M57) was first discovered in the winter of 1779. But by whom? Some claim it was French astronomer Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix, while others insist it was Charles Messier. However, ...