While observing the outer region of the Milky Way galaxy, our Spitzer Telescope captured this infrared image of a cloud of gas and dust that looks like the hollowed-out pumpkins we see every Halloween.
While observing the outer region of the Milky Way galaxy, our Spitzer Telescope captured this infrared image of a cloud of gas and dust that looks like the hollowed-out pumpkins we see every Halloween. Nicknamed the “Jack-o’-Lantern Nebula,” it was likely created by powerful outflows of radiation and particles from a massive O-type star, about 15 to 20 times heavier than the Sun.
The data used to create this image was collected during Spitzer’s “cold mission,” which ran between 2004 and 2009.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech