Professor Nakamura got himself ready for the lesson, excited for this particular class. Once the students started coming in, he put down his reading materials and smiled at them as they entered. He prided himself on having a welcoming atmosphere to his classes. “Welcome back,” he greeted as they all settled into their seats, this week arranged in a circle. “Tonight, we’ll be studying nebulae.”
Professor Nakamura moved to the centre of the circle. “Nebulae are where stars are born, but also the remnants of dying stars. They consist of clouds of gas and dust, with the gas thinner than it is here on Earth. The dust particles are also different, being about one micron big. A strand of hair is one hundred times larger than that.”
Professor Nakamura moved back a little bit, then took out his wand, giving it a wave. A three dimensional representation began to emerge in the centre of the room of a nebula. “Here you see the Orion nebula,” Professor Nakamura explained. He then began to read out loud the notes for the class.
It was a lot of information to take in, but Professor Nakamura was confident his students could do it. “You might have noticed that, for the most part, we haven’t strayed from the Orion constellation. The Orion constellation actually contains something called the Giant Molecular Cloud Complex, or the Orion Complex. This consists of twenty different nebulae.” Professor Nakamura zoomed them out to show the Orion constellation, then linked the stars for those who still weren’t familiar with it. “For homework I’d like you to research a nebula, and write a short essay on the subject. Class dismissed.”
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Roleplay the lesson for full marks.
Homework (optional) is a short essay on a nebula of your choosing (100 words)
Professor Nakamura moved to the centre of the circle. “Nebulae are where stars are born, but also the remnants of dying stars. They consist of clouds of gas and dust, with the gas thinner than it is here on Earth. The dust particles are also different, being about one micron big. A strand of hair is one hundred times larger than that.”
Professor Nakamura moved back a little bit, then took out his wand, giving it a wave. A three dimensional representation began to emerge in the centre of the room of a nebula. “Here you see the Orion nebula,” Professor Nakamura explained. He then began to read out loud the notes for the class.
Diffuse Nebulae: Lack a distinct border, appear to fade as you move away from the centre. Consists of three types:
Example: NGC 2022 / NGC 2022
Supernova Remnants: What is left over of an exploding star. The gas and dust will slowly across millions of years form a new star.
Example: The Crab Nebula
- Emission Nebulae: Emit light in the visible spectrum as well as infrared and ultraviolet. Hydrogen gas emits red light, oxygen green/blue light are two main examples of the gas that is normally found in emission nebulae.
Example: Orion Nebula - Reflection Nebulae: The gas and dust reflects light from nearby stars back at us.
Example: Pleiades star cluster and Messier 78 (M78) - Dark Nebulae: Thick enough dust and gas clouds that it blocks out light.
Example: Horsehead Nebula and B68
Example: NGC 2022 / NGC 2022
Supernova Remnants: What is left over of an exploding star. The gas and dust will slowly across millions of years form a new star.
Example: The Crab Nebula
It was a lot of information to take in, but Professor Nakamura was confident his students could do it. “You might have noticed that, for the most part, we haven’t strayed from the Orion constellation. The Orion constellation actually contains something called the Giant Molecular Cloud Complex, or the Orion Complex. This consists of twenty different nebulae.” Professor Nakamura zoomed them out to show the Orion constellation, then linked the stars for those who still weren’t familiar with it. “For homework I’d like you to research a nebula, and write a short essay on the subject. Class dismissed.”
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Roleplay the lesson for full marks.
Homework (optional) is a short essay on a nebula of your choosing (100 words)
