Plasma is in the stars, and the space between the stars. It makes up over 99% of the visible universe. Plasma is a collection of free moving electrons and ions – atoms that have lost electrons. The ions and electrons move independently of each other and have very large spacing between them.

Some common plasmas are found in stars and lightning strike discharges above the Earth's surface. In the universe, plasma is the most common state of matter.

The star forming pillars in the Eagle Nebula (shown at the right) was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and is composed of 32 different images from 4 separate cameras.