spiral nebula

spiral nebula
Nebula Neb"u*la (n[e^]b"[-u]*l[.a]), n.; pl. {Nebul[ae]} (n[e^]b"[-u]*l[=e]). [L., mist, cloud; akin to Gr. nefe`lh, ne`fos, cloud, mist, G. nebel mist, OHG. nebul, D. nevel, Skr. nabhas cloud, mist. Cf. {Nebule}.] 1. (Astron.) A faint, cloudlike, self-luminous mass of matter situated beyond the solar system among the stars. The term was originally applied to any diffuse luminous region. Now, technically, it is applied to interstellar clouds of dust and gases ({diffuse nebula}). However distant galaxies and very distant star clusters often appear like them in the telescope, such as the {spiral nebula} in Andromeda, known now to be a distant galaxy. [1913 Webster +PJC]

2. (Med.) (a) A white spot or a slight opacity of the cornea. (b) A cloudy appearance in the urine. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • spiral nebula — noun a galaxy having a spiral structure; arms containing younger stars spiral out from old stars at the center • Syn: ↑spiral galaxy • Hypernyms: ↑galaxy, ↑extragalactic nebula • Hyponyms: ↑Andromeda galaxy * * * …   Useful english dictionary

  • spiral nebula — noun a spiral shaped nebula …   Wiktionary

  • spiral nebula — noun see spiral galaxy …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • spiral nebula — Astron. (formerly) a spiral galaxy. * * * …   Universalium

  • Nebula Award — for Best Novella for The Green Leopard Plague, by Walter Jon Williams The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States… …   Wikipedia

  • Nebula — Neb u*la (n[e^]b [ u]*l[.a]), n.; pl. {Nebul[ae]} (n[e^]b [ u]*l[=e]). [L., mist, cloud; akin to Gr. nefe lh, ne fos, cloud, mist, G. nebel mist, OHG. nebul, D. nevel, Skr. nabhas cloud, mist. Cf. {Nebule}.] 1. (Astron.) A faint, cloudlike, self… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • spiral galaxy — n. a galaxy having the visible form of a spiral: also spiral nebula …   English World dictionary

  • Spiral galaxy — A spiral galaxy is a galaxy belonging to one of the three main classes of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work “The Realm of the Nebulae” [cite book |last=Hubble |first=E. P. |authorlink=Edwin Hubble |title=The Realm of… …   Wikipedia

  • Nebula — Nebulae redirects here. For the supercomputer in China, see Nebulae (computer). For other uses, see Nebula (disambiguation). The Pillars of Creation from the Eagle Nebula …   Wikipedia

  • spiral — Synonyms and related words: Milky Way, O shaped, Via Lactea, acrobatics, aerobatics, ambagious, anfractuous, arise, ascend, aspire, backhanded, bank, banking, barred spiral, barred spiral galaxy, become airborne, chandelle, circle, circling,… …   Moby Thesaurus

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