The Hubble telescope, which serves as mankind’s eye in space, has captured stunning images for decades. This time, the powerful machine captured some pictures of the stunning Red Spider Nebula. Located in the constellation Sagittarius about 3,000 light-years away, this planetary nebula is home to one of the most scorching stars in the universe, with surface temperatures reaching 250,000°C (450,000°F).
According to NASA, this intense heat energizes the surrounding gas, generating giant shockwaves that extend 62 billion miles (100 billion km) into space. These shockwaves create the nebula’s distinctive spider-leg-like arcs, which appear to radiate from the central star.
NASA described these images as follows, “In this photo of a planetary nebula, orange waves of hot gas, resembling the curled legs of a black widow spider, surround a pink glowing core. White dots of light are visible in the background.”
See the picture here:
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The fascinating pictures of the ‘cosmic spider’ have delighted the internet. Shared just a few days ago, the post has already garnered over 600,000 likes and has been flooded with comments from amazed users who can’t get enough of seeing this celestial wonder.
One user wrote, “Is there another name for this red spider nebula? Does it have another origin? Well, it’s the only spider I love and am not afraid of!”
Another commented, “Wow….head and big eye and hands…and legs and tail in the second pic…..what I am seeing is amazing.” A third said, “Celestial confusion.” A fourth said, “Ok this is the most beautiful thing I have seen today thank you.”
Another said: “It feels like looking into the heart of the universe…amazing!”
Hubble is a joint project of the US space agency NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). Launched on April 24, 1990, the telescope has made more than 1.4 million observations of about 47,000 celestial objects. It was named after American astronomer Edwin P. Hubble, who confirmed that our universe is constantly expanding. In its 30-year lifetime, the telescope has made more than 175,000 revolutions around our planet, totaling about 4.4 billion miles.
