4 March: Nebulae

Charles Messier observed the Orion Nebula on March 4, 1769. Some facts about nebulae:

1. The word is Latin, and means cloud, or Fog.
2. A nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space. They range in size from millions of miles to hundreds of light years across. Nebulas are mostly composed of hydrogen along with smaller amounts of other gases and dust particles.
3. The Orion Nebula is so named because it is in the constellation of Orion, although nebulae are often named for the things they look like, such as the Horsehead Nebula, Butterfly Nebula, Lemon Slice Nebula or North America Nebula.
4. The Orion Nebula can be seen with the naked eye, but in spite of this it wasn’t mentioned in ancient texts, or indeed by Galileo. The first recorded observations of it only came about after the invention of the telescope. It may be that in ancient times it wasn’t so visible, and only is now because new stars have formed.
5. The Mayans of Central America may have described the Orion Nebula within their "Three Hearthstones" creation myth.
6. The largest Nebula visible from Earth is the Tarantula Nebula, which can be seen in the constellation Dorado.
7. The closest Nebula to Earth is the Helix Nebula. It’s 700 light years away in the constellation of Aquarius. It resembles a giant eye, and so is sometimes referred to as the Eye of God.
8. The coldest place in the universe is thought to be in a nebula; the Boomerang Nebula, to be exact. The temperature there is -272°c on average.
9. Nebulae are thought to be the place where new stars are born. They contain all the building blocks necessary to create stars. Asteroids and comets might also originate here. A Supernova, or dying star, when it explodes leaves behind a nebula.
10. Could you visit one? Assuming you have the means of travelling far into space, of course. Scientists believe it wouldn’t be all that dangerous to travel through one, and you might not even notice for most of the time, although there could be places where the dust and gas is concentrated enough to make breathing impossible.

Character Birthday

Drain: A young villain about whom little is known except his power which is to drain energy and power from people, animals, machines and systems. There is speculation that Professor Power is his father.