Also photos of nebulas are time exposures, capturing light over time which is too faint for your eye to see in real time. If you have access to a good telescope, get a look at Orion's sword where the famous nebula is. You've seen brilliant photos of it in glorious color, but live, in a telescope, it's just a faint gray cloud. Experts correct me if I'm wrong, but I think even if you were close enough for it to fill the sky, it would still be pale and gray. Also CMIIAW, but I think the famous Horsehead Nebula is scarcely visible at all in real time and can only be seen with a time exposure?