Realm of Science October 20th 1917

Abstract

First Paragraph: The term nebula (plural nebulae) is a Latin word meaning a cloud. It is applied by astronomers to a class of heavenly bodies that look like shining clouds with patches or regions of brighter or fainter luminosity gradually merging into one another. For the most part they are without any well-defined stellar points. A few of the larger nebulae, such as the one in Andromeda and the one in Orion, are visible to the naked eye on a clear, moonless night. Though rather indistinct, and bearing a close resemblance to a candle light seen through oiled paper, they have been known from antiquity.