Mutara Nebula
The Mutara Nebula was an interstellar dust cloud located in the Mutara sector of the Beta Quadrant. The nebula contained high levels of static discharge and was comprised largely of ionized gases. The combined effect of this made a starship's sensors highly unreliable and shields inoperable when inside. In  of 2285, the nebula ceased to exist when the Genesis Device detonated. 

In 2285, it was the site of the fierce Battle of the Mutara Nebula. The battle ended when Khan Noonien Singh detonated the experimental Genesis Device inside the nebula aboard the , in an attempt to destroy the . Captain Spock, however, repaired the damaged reactor aboard the Enterprise, allowing the warp drive to function and saving the ship. The detonation caused matter within the nebula to re-form into the . ()

The nebula classification Mutara class was named after this nebula, and its properties were used as the model for this class. ()

Appendices

Background information 
This nebula's quadrant of origin is inferred based on the position of Spock's last known position in the Mutara sector () as seen in the star chart appearing in the  episode .

Recycled footage of the Mutara Nebula, slightly recolored, was reused as the Mar Oscura Nebula in . Later, some visuals of the nebula, turned upside-down and slightly modified, were reused as the Chamra Vortex in  and an unnamed Gamma Quadrant nebula in . Visuals of the nebula also appear in modified form in certain shots of the Paulson Nebula in .

Apocrypha 
The Mutara Nebula is a location in the 25th century game Star Trek Online.

External link 
 

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Nebulae