Phrase guide

planetary nebula

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A nebulosity surrounding a dying red giant, consisting of material expelled by the star.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: astronomy, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a nebula that was once thought to be a star with its planets but is now thought to be a very hot star surrounded by an expanding envelope of ionized gases that emit a fluorescent glow because of intense radiation from the star

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: nebula

History

Etymology

Coined by William Herschel because of their apparent resemblance to the planet Uranus.

Across languages

Translations

40 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: سَدِيم كَوْكَبِيّ (sadīm kawkabiyy) — nebulosity
  • Armenian: մոլորակաձեւ միգամածություն (molorakajew migamacutʻyun) — nebulosity
  • Bengali: গ্রহ নীহারিকা (groho niharika) — nebulosity
  • Bulgarian: планетарна мъглявина (planetarna mǎgljavina) — nebulosity
  • Catalan: nebulosa planetària — nebulosity
  • Chinese Mandarin: 行星狀星雲 /行星状星云 (xíngxīng zhuàng xīngyún) — nebulosity
  • Czech: planetární mlhovina — nebulosity
  • Danish: planetarisk tåge — nebulosity
  • Dutch: planetaire nevel — nebulosity
  • Esperanto: planeduma nebulozo — nebulosity
  • Finnish: planetaarinen sumu — nebulosity
  • French: nébuleuse planétaire — nebulosity
  • Georgian: პლანეტური ნისლეული (ṗlaneṭuri nisleuli) — nebulosity
  • German: planetarischer Nebel — nebulosity
  • Greek: πλανητικό νεφέλωμα (planitikó neféloma) — nebulosity
  • Hebrew: ערפילית פלנטרית — nebulosity
  • Hindi: ग्रहीय निहारिका (grahīya nihārikā) — nebulosity
  • Hungarian: planetáris köd — nebulosity
  • Irish: réaltnéal pláinéadach — nebulosity
  • Italian: nebulosa planetaria — nebulosity
  • Japanese: 惑星状星雲 (wakuseijōseiun) — nebulosity
  • Korean: 행성상 성운 (haengseongsang seong'un) — nebulosity
  • Latvian: planetārais miglājs — nebulosity
  • Lithuanian: planetiškasis ūkas — nebulosity
  • Norwegian Bokmål: planetarisk tåke — nebulosity
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: planetarisk tåke — nebulosity
  • Persian: سحابی سیارهنما — nebulosity
  • Polish: mgławica planetarna — nebulosity
  • Portuguese: nebulosa planetária — nebulosity
  • Romanian: nebuloasă planetară — nebulosity
  • Russian: планета́рная тума́нность (planetárnaja tumánnostʹ) — nebulosity
  • Serbo-Croatian: planetarna maglica — nebulosity
  • Serbo-Croatian: planetarna maglina — nebulosity
  • Slovak: planetárna hmlovina — nebulosity
  • Slovene: planetárna meglíca — nebulosity
  • Slovene: planétna meglíca — nebulosity
  • Spanish: nebulosa planetaria — nebulosity
  • Swedish: planetarisk nebulosa — nebulosity
  • Turkish: gezegenimsi bulutsu — nebulosity
  • Ukrainian: планета́рна тума́нність (planetárna tumánnistʹ) — nebulosity