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  • kokopelli@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    4 months ago

    I have a question and wondering if anyone can answer: why are nebulas not round or more spherical? If there isn’t anything to push the gasses around, why done they expand into a rough sphere shape?

    • corvus@lemmy.mlEnglish
      2·
      4 months ago

      Conservation of angular momentum L = r x p (vector product) with p = mv the linear momentum. So if L being a vector is constant so is its direction, so p (and v) being perpendicular to L implies that the movement must be constrained to a plane (perpendicular to L). It’s the same reason why the planets of the solar system lie on a single plane and not on a sphere like artificial satellites around the earth.

    • AplasticAenima@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      4 months ago

      Nebulas are not perfectly round or spherical because they are affected by different forces that can cause them to be chaotic and irregular. Things like explosions from stars, magnetic fields, gravitational interactions with other objects, and radiation pressure can all factor in the way a nebula looks.

      • kokopelli@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        4 months ago

        You know, sometimes I forget there are in fact forces in space. For some reason I was thinking about it like a small explosion of dust in atmosphere, but obviously all sorts of things can affect a massive nebula that spans light years. I think it was the fact that they look so blobby and constrained even when they aren’t really

        I should know this given I’m a huge space nerd, I think I desperately need more sleep lol