Nebulae Up Close
Students learn why emission nebulae glow red (hydrogen lit by ultraviolet light from hot young stars), why reflection nebulae look blue (dust scattering starlight), and how dark nebulae block light, while touring famous star nurseries.
Grades 5-8About 15 minutes of narrated flight, plus discussion stops8 stops
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What students will see and do
Students fly to the Orion Nebula, the Lagoon, the Trifid, the Pleiades, the Rosette, the Carina Nebula, the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the North America Nebula. Aetherion pauses at the Trifid (three nebula types in one view), the Pleiades (why reflection nebulae look blue) and the Tarantula (how much energy its stars must give off).
Learning objectives
- Explain why emission nebulae glow red and reflection nebulae look blue.
- Identify emission, reflection and dark nebulae in images.
- Describe how hot young stars light up and reshape the clouds they formed in.
- Compare visible and infrared views of star forming regions.
NGSS connections
| MS-PS4-2 | Light is emitted by glowing gas, scattered by dust and absorbed by thick clouds, which explains nebula colors. |
|---|---|
| MS-ESS1-2 | Gravity pulls gas and dust together inside nebulae to form new stars. |
| MS-ESS1-3 | Students compare the sizes and distances of nebulae in the Milky Way and a nearby galaxy. |
Stops on this journey
- The Orion Nebula
- Why Nebulae Glow Red
- Three Kinds in One (discussion stop)
- A Blue Glow (discussion stop)
- The Rosette
- The Great Carina Nebula
- The Tarantula (discussion stop)
- A Continent in Space
Vocabulary
- nebula
- emission nebula
- reflection nebula
- dark nebula
- hydrogen
- ultraviolet light
- infrared light
- star cluster