Meanings
nounplanetary nebula (plural planetary nebulas or planetary nebulae)
plural planetary nebulas · plural planetary nebulae
- astronomyA nebulosity surrounding a dying red giant, consisting of material expelled by the star.
Synonyms: PN
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA nebulosity surrounding a dying red giant, consisting of material expelled by the star.
Similar
Origin
Coined by William Herschel because of their apparent resemblance to the planet Uranus.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic سَدِيم كَوْكَبِيّ
- سَدِيم كَوْكَبِيّ (sadīm kawkabiyy)nebulosity
Bengali গ্রহ নীহারিকা
- গ্রহ নীহারিকা (groho niharika)nebulosity
Bulgarian планетарна мъглявина
- планетарна мъглявина (planetarna măgljavina)nebulosity
Catalan nebulosa planetària
- nebulosa planetàrianebulosity
Chinese Mandarin 行星狀星雲 /行星状星云
- 行星狀星雲 /行星状星云 (xíngxīng zhuàng xīngyún)nebulosity
Czech planetární mlhovina
- planetární mlhovinanebulosity
Danish planetarisk tåge
- planetarisk tågenebulosity
Dutch planetaire nevel
- planetaire nevelnebulosity
Esperanto planeduma nebulozo
- planeduma nebulozonebulosity
Finnish planetaarinen sumu
- planetaarinen sumunebulosity
French nébuleuse planétaire
- nébuleuse planétairenebulosity
German planetarischer Nebel
- planetarischer Nebelnebulosity
Greek πλανητικό νεφέλωμα
- πλανητικό νεφέλωμα (planitikó neféloma)nebulosity
Hebrew ערפילית פלנטרית
- ערפילית פלנטריתnebulosity
Hindi ग्रहीय निहारिका
- ग्रहीय निहारिका (grahīya nihārikā)nebulosity
Hungarian planetáris köd
- planetáris ködnebulosity
Irish réaltnéal pláinéadach
- réaltnéal pláinéadachnebulosity
Italian nebulosa planetaria
- nebulosa planetarianebulosity
Japanese 惑星状星雲
- 惑星状星雲 (wakuseijōseiun)nebulosity
Korean 행성상 성운
- 행성상 성운 (haengseongsang seong'un)nebulosity
Latvian planetārais miglājs
- planetārais miglājsnebulosity
Lithuanian planetiškasis ūkas
- planetiškasis ūkasnebulosity
Norwegian Bokmål planetarisk tåke
- planetarisk tåkenebulosity
Persian سحابی سیارهنما
- سحابی سیارهنماnebulosity
Polish mgławica planetarna
- mgławica planetarnanebulosity
Portuguese nebulosa planetária
- nebulosa planetárianebulosity
Romanian nebuloasă planetară
- nebuloasă planetarănebulosity
Russian планета́рная тума́нность
- планета́рная тума́нность (planetárnaja tumánnostʹ)nebulosity
Slovak planetárna hmlovina
- planetárna hmlovinanebulosity
Spanish nebulosa planetaria
- nebulosa planetarianebulosity
Swedish planetarisk nebulosa
- planetarisk nebulosanebulosity
Turkish gezegenimsi bulutsu
- gezegenimsi bulutsunebulosity
Ukrainian планета́рна тума́нність
- планета́рна тума́нність (planetárna tumánnistʹ)nebulosity
Cite this entry
APA
planetary nebula. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/planetary%20nebula
MLA
“planetary nebula.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/planetary%20nebula. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “planetary nebula,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/planetary%20nebula.
Source: planetary nebula on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.