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Red Spider Nebula

The headshot image of Monika Luabeya

Monika Luabeya

Nov 25, 2025
Image Article
A multicolored nebula stands out against the star-studded background of space. The nebula’s central star is hidden by a blotchy pinkish cloud of dust. A strong red light radiates from this area, lighting up the nearby dust. An elongated purple ‘S’ shape is centered on the heart of the nebula, while two blue lobes stretch diagonally outward to the edges of the image, making the entire structure look like a tilted hourglass.
ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. H. Kastner (Rochester Institute of Technology)

Using its Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam), NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured never-before-seen details of the Red Spider Nebula, a planetary nebula, in this image released on Oct. 26, 2025. NIRCam is Webb’s primary near-infrared imager, providing high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy for a wide variety of investigations.

Webb’s new view of the Red Spider Nebula reveals for the first time the full extent of the nebula’s outstretched lobes, which form the ‘legs’ of the spider. These lobes, shown in blue, are traced by light emitted from H2 molecules, which contain two hydrogen atoms bonded together. Stretching over the entirety of NIRCam’s field of view, these lobes are shown to be closed, bubble-like structures that each extend about 3 light-years. Outflowing gas from the center of the nebula has inflated these massive bubbles over thousands of years.

Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. H. Kastner (Rochester Institute of Technology)