--- description: The Red Spider Nebula, located in the Milky Way, harbors one of the hottest stars. title: And Now Here's a Spooky Hubble Space Picture Just in Time for Halloween image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad5be96e78147b05/6988ab4b524fc07645df9f5a/red-spider-nebula.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Space](/tag/space/) ## Space Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # And Now Here's a Spooky Hubble Space Picture Just in Time for Halloween  by [Kim Bubello](/author/kim-bubello/)  ## Kim Bubello Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 24, 2016 5:00 PM CUT  Hubble image of the Red Spider Nebula, located some 3,000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius. Hubble image of the Red Spider Nebula, located some 3,000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius.Garrelt Mellema—ESA  by [Kim Bubello](/author/kim-bubello/)  ## Kim Bubello Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 24, 2016 5:00 PM CUT The Hubble space telescope has captured an image of the stunning yet spooky Red Spider Nebula. This two-lobed nebula is located in the constellation of Sagittarius, which some 3,000 light years away from earth. This complex structure is called two-lobed because of its symmetrical appearance. Over 1,500 of these [planetary nebulas](http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2085456,00.html?iid=sr-link2 "undefined") exist within the [Milky Way](http://time.com/135327/the-milky-way-and-the-andromeda-nebula-are-going-to-collide/?iid=sr-link4 "undefined"). Planetary nebulas play a very crucial role within their galaxies. They are able to recycle heavier elements, which were created within the star, back into space. Waves, caused by supersonic shock, are formed when the local gas is compressed and heated in front of the rapidly expanding lobes. As a star reaches the end of its life a shell of gas and plasma is formed, which then causes the glowing appearance you see in the nebula. For stars, this is one of the last stages in their lifespan. The Red Spider Nebula has one of the hottest stars known within it and contains winds that can generate waves 100 billion kilometers high, [NASA says](http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2016/hubble-spins-a-web-into-a-giant-red-spider-nebula "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4542802/hubble-telescope-space-halloween/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4542802/hubble-telescope-space-halloween/"},"headline":"And Now Here's a Spooky Hubble Space Picture Just in Time for Halloween","datePublished":"2016-10-24T17:00:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:22:53.518Z","description":"This nebula, located in he Milky Way, harbors one of the hottest stars","url":"https://time.com/4542802/hubble-telescope-space-halloween/","keywords":["Space","NASA","Hubble","Science topic","Telescope","nebula","esa","halloween","one-pic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad5be96e78147b05/6988ab4b524fc07645df9f5a/red-spider-nebula.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kim Bubello","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kim-bubello/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad5be96e78147b05/6988ab4b524fc07645df9f5a/red-spider-nebula.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Red Spider Nebula: Surfing in Sagittarius - not for the fain","caption":"The Red Spider Nebula: Surfing in Sagittarius - not for the fain","creditText":"Garrelt Mellema—ESA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4542802/hubble-telescope-space-halloween/","name":"And Now Here's a Spooky Hubble Space Picture Just in Time for Halloween"}}]}] ```