Like a cosmic butterfly net, ESO's Very Large Telescope has captured a winged nebula in new, intricate detail. In the image, the nebula almost seems to float across space. Known as NGC 2899, the object is located between 3000 and 6500 light-years away in the constellation Vela.
A nebula is a spreading cloud of gas created when a dying star sheds off gas layers, and NGC 2899 extends some two light-years from its center. Because of large amounts of radiation, the nebula reaches astonishingly high temperatures-- some 10,000 degrees, as hydrogen gas contributes to its reddish halo, and oxygen gas appears blue. Watch a video that zooms in on the nebula from the great reaches of outer space. More details here.