showingthin.gs
YOUR NEXT DISCOVERY/SpaceFollow your curiosity
The "Jack-o'-Lantern Nebula"
NASA / JPL · Reuse terms

Space / 2019-10-30

The "Jack-o'-Lantern Nebula"

The "Jack-o'-Lantern Nebula"

NASA's image library records The "Jack-o'-Lantern Nebula".

WHY IT’S INTERESTING

This carved-out cloud of gas and dust has been nicknamed the "Jack-o'-lantern Nebula" because it looks like a cosmic hollowed-out pumpkin. Powerful outflows of radiation and particles from a massive star — known as an O-type star and about 15 to 20 times heavier than the Sun — has likely swept the surrounding dust and gas outward, creating deep gou

SERENDIPITYA little unexpected
FamiliarWeird

A CLOSER LOOK

This carved-out cloud of gas and dust has been nicknamed the "Jack-o'-lantern Nebula" because it looks like a cosmic hollowed-out pumpkin. Powerful outflows of radiation and particles from a massive star — known as an O-type star and about 15 to 20 times heavier than the Sun — has likely swept the surrounding dust and gas outward, creating deep gouges in the cloud. The image shows infrared light (which is invisible to the human eye) captured by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23403

Explore NASA's original image record for credits and available downloads.

FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE

NASA Image and Video LibraryThe "Jack-o'-Lantern Nebula"

Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.