Science

The 10 spookiest nebulas in the universe

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6m ago

May 08, 2024 / 8602 Views

Evan Walker

A malevolent, screaming skull face. A witch cackling in profile. An all-seeing eye, gazing red and furious from the void of space.

Like cosmic Halloween decorations, nebulas are some of the most gorgeous objects in the universe, and some of the spookiest. These vast regions of gas and dust, illuminated by starlight and sculpted by stellar radiation, often take on shapes that look eerily familiar to our pareidolia-obsessed brains.

Both beautiful and terrifying, here are 10 of our favorite spooky nebulas from across the universe.

1. Witch Head Nebula

As the name implies, this reflection nebula associated with the star Rigel looks suspiciously like a fairytale crone. Formally known as IC 2118 in the constellation Orion, the Witch Head Nebula glows primarily by light reflected from the star. — Witch head nebula. (Image credit: NASA/STScI Digitized Sky Survey/Noel Carboni)

The Witch Head Nebula, formally known as IC 2118, is located in the constellation Orion about 900 light-years from Earth. Illuminated by the giant blue star Rigel, this enchanted blue nebula looks like the silhouette of a cackling space crone in the midst of some cosmic incantations.

2. Skull and Crossbones Nebula

Image of the Skull and Crossbones Nebula. — (Image credit: ESO)

Despite its decrepit appearance, NGC 2467, better known as the Skull and Crossbones Nebula, is a stellar nursery bursting with baby star formation. Two large star clusters gaze out of the skull's "eye sockets," giving the nebula its forbidding look. Keeping with the high-seas theme, the Skull and Crossbones nebula lives in the constellation Puppis, or "the poop deck," near the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way.

Related: The 7 most terrifying things in space

3. Eye of God Nebula

This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Helix nebula, a cosmic starlet often photographed by amateur astronomers for its vivid colours and resemblance to a giant eye. An optimised and digitally enhanced version of a NASA/ ESA image. — Eye of God nebula. (Image credit: NASA/ESA)

Staring like the unblinking eye of God (or the eye of Sauron, depending on your literary taste) the Helix Nebula is an infamously spooky object that has captivated astronomers for 200 years. Located 700 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, the nebula is the result of a dead star showering infrared light onto a coccoon of dust.

Related: 12 trippy objects hidden in the zodiac

4. Little Ghost Nebula

The Little ghost nebula's main round structure is about a light-year across and the glow from ionized oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen atoms are colored blue, green, and red respectively. — Little ghost nebula. (Image credit: Hubble Heritage Team, NASA)

Wispy and faint, The Little Ghost Nebula (NGC 6369) is a monument to stellar death. Illuminated by the dying spirit of a white dwarf star (the smoldering husk of a once-mighty star that has ceased its nucelar fusion), the fire at the center of this nebula is slowly dimming, and will one day vanish entirely.