Encountering a nebula in space is not something that is particularly rare. At least, it is more common than encountering a neutron star or a supernova.
A nebula is a diffusive matter that spreads over a massive stretch of space, and the larger among them could cover more than ten light years of distance. To put that into perspective, a ray of sunlight needs almost nine hours to travel from the sun to Pluto. Humans, with our current technology, would take nine years to travel from Earth to Pluto, and that is if the party doesn’t perish in the perilous journey!
When one considers that a light-year is equivalent to the distance light travels in a year, or 9.5 trillion kilometers, the fact that a nebula could be more than ten light-years in size is mind-boggling…
It is simply impossible for man to travel across such a distance. The journey would take about one hundred thousand years, a number that is even bigger than the age of human civilization!
