Apr 23, 2025, 06:58 AM IST
The Red Spider Nebula is located in the constellation Sagittarius, approximately 3,000 light-years from Earth.
The nebula features striking orange waves of hot gas encircling a glowing pinkish center, resembling the curved legs of a black widow spider.
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured spectacular images of the Red Spider Nebula, showcasing its fiery red hues and spider-like structure.
The nebula has a prominent two-lobed shape, possibly due to a binary companion or magnetic fields, with an S-shaped symmetry of the lobes.
The planetary Nebula NGC 6537 was discovered on 15th July 1882 by the American astronomer Edward Pickering using visual spectroscopy with the 15 inch refractor of Harvard College Observatory.
The waves are caused by supersonic shocks, formed when the local gas is compressed and heated in front of the rapidly expanding lobes. The atoms caught in the shock emit the spectacular radiation seen in this image.
Red Spider Nebula's powerful stellar winds generate waves 100 billion kilometers (62.4 billion miles) high.
Credit: NASA