Cotton Candy Nebula (2013)

Otherwise known as IRAS 17150-3224, add this list of things which probably look amazing up close but this is the best we have for now, which I should say is pretty good for how apparently small this object is. Hubble could get a little better look at it with one of the newer instruments, which I’d love to see but won’t hold my breath for. Update: Actually, I think if we look at the Egg Nebula we get a pretty good idea about this one. They seem surprisingly similar!

It’s tiny but very well-defined. The beams of light are intense and the cast shadows are unusually easy to see. Lots of dust!

Can’t say I understand why it’s called Cotton Candy. The tight wrapping of dust around the core makes me think of a corset.

This view is zoomed 150% from actual pixels.

Red: hst_06364_13_wfpc2_f814w_pc_sci
Green: hst_06565_02_wfpc2_f606w_pc_sci
Blue: hst_06364_13_wfpc2_f450w_pc_sci

North is up

Copyright information:
Hubble data is public domain, but I put a lot of work into combining it into beautiful color images. The minimal credit line should read: NASA / ESA / J. Schmidt

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.