Unique types of Nebulae

7. Rosette Nebula Discovered: 1690 Distance from Earth: 5200 light years About: It was discovered by the English astronomer John Flamsteed in 1690. He, however, could not see the nebula, which was not observed until much later. The cluster has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.8 and is approximately 5,200 light years distant from Earth, at the same distance as the nebula.

6. Veil Nebula Discovered: 1904 Distance from Earth: 1470 light years About: It was discovered photographically in 1904 by Williamina Fleming (after the New General Catalogue was published), but credit went to Edward Charles Pickering, the director of her observatory, as was the custom of the day. The Veil Nebula is expanding at a velocity of about 1.5 million kilometers per hour.

5. Crab Nebula Discovered: 1731 Distance from Earth: 6400 light years About: The nebula was discovered by English astronomer John Bevis in 1731, and it corresponds with a bright supernova recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054. The nebula was the first astronomical object identified that corresponds with a historical supernova explosion.

4. Ring Nebula Discovered: 1779 Distance from Earth: 2283 light years About: The Ring Nebula, also known as Messier 57 or NGC 6720, was discovered in 1779 by astronomer Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix, and observed shortly after by Charles Messier, becoming the 57th object in the famous Messier catalogue of astronomical objects.

3. Cat Eye Nebula Discovered: 1786 Distance from Earth: 3000 light years About: It was discovered by William Herschel on February 15, 1786, and was the first planetary nebula whose spectrum was investigated, by the English amateur astronomer William Huggins in 1864. Modern studies reveal several mysteries.

2. Orion Nebula Discovered: 1610 Distance from Earth: 1344 light years About: The Orion Nebula is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. It is 1,344 ± 20 light-years away and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth.

1. Helix Nebula Discovered: Probably before 1824 Distance from Earth: 655 light years About: Discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding, probably before 1824, this object is one of the closest to the Earth of all the bright planetary nebulae. The distance, measured by the Gaia mission, is 655±13 light-years.