Nebula – The Birthplace of Stars
This souvenir sheet of four stamps features pictures of nebulae taken from telescopes and satellites.
In 1054, Chinese astronomers observed a new star in the sky near the Taurus constellation. Centuries later, it was determined to have been a supernova, or large explosion of a star. The Crab Nebula is the remnant of that supernova. It is 10 light-years across and continues to expand.
The Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula are areas where new stars are forming.
The Horsehead Nebula was named because its shape is similar to the head of a horse. It is near the Orion constellation. The pink glow comes from hydrogen gas.
The Orion Nebula is visible to the naked eye and looks like a fuzzy star in Orion’s sword. The mass of this nebula is 2,000 times that of our sun.