NASA has unveiled breathtaking images of the Red Spider Nebula, located about 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. Captured by the Hubble Telescope, these images showcase the nebula’s fiery and intricate structure. The central star, one of the hottest in the universe, boasts a surface temperature of up to 250,000°C (450,000°F).
This extreme heat energizes the surrounding gas, creating massive shockwaves that extend 62 billion miles (100 billion km) into space. These shockwaves sculpt the nebula into distinctive spider-leg-like arcs.
NASA described the images as “orange waves of hot gas, resembling the curved legs of a black widow spider, surrounding a pinkish glowing core.” The background features scattered white points of light.
The internet has been abuzz with excitement over these “Cosmic Spider” images. Since their release, the post has amassed over 600,000 likes and a flood of comments from amazed viewers. Comments ranged from admiration of the nebula’s beauty to comparisons with various spider-like forms.
One user expressed their love for the nebula, noting, “This is the only spider I love and am not scared of!” Another commented on the visual details, saying, “WOW… The head and a big eye and the hand… Wonderful what I see.”
Hubble, a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), has been observing the cosmos since its launch on April 24, 1990. In its 30 years, it has made over 1.4 million observations of nearly 47,000 celestial objects, traveling about 4.4 billion miles.