As ghosts, skeletons and spiders roam the streets trick-or-treating on Halloween night, they’ll have cosmic company. Throughout outer space lie stars and galaxies that resemble creepy creatures, spooky skulls and galactic ghouls. And while there’s no candy in outer space (though there is sugar), these colorful images are a treat in and of themselves.
Exposed Cranium Nebula.
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Skeletons and disembodied heads are a hallmark of Halloween, but this phantasmic apparition, called the exposed cranium nebula, lurks above us all year long. Its brainlike appearance stems from the different phases of star death. First, the dying star ejects a bunch of hydrogen, which forms the white outer bubble, then heavier material, which creates the orange “brain” within.
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IC 63 Ghost Nebula.
NASA, ESA, and STScI
The name of this nebula sounds like the title of a scary story. Called “the Ghost of Cassiopea,” its gas and dust glows like a haunted spirit because of hydrogen interacting with ultraviolet radiation from a star in the constellation Cassiopeia the Queen. When the two mix, the gas glows red, and the blue haze comes from light reflecting off space dust.
The Red Spider Nebula.
ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. H. Kastner (Rochester Institute of Technology)
This nebula, called the Red Spider Nebula, is scuttling around space while its central star, glowing bright red in the middle, ejects bursts of gas and dust. These filaments, made up mostly of hydrogen, form the spider’s “legs.”
The Cat’s Head Nebula.
NASA, ESA, STScI
We all know the stories about black cats on Halloween, but what about space cats? The Cat’s Head Nebula is a collection of gas and young stars sitting within the Carina Nebula. Although the shape will someday dissipate, for now it resembles a cat turned to the right, with a glowing red eye that’s likely a young star.
The Phantom Galaxy.
ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team; ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar
The aptly named Phantom galaxy lies 32 million light-years away in the Pisces constellation. It’s called that because it has low surface brightness and is difficult to spot—but with a head-on spiral view that resembles a portal to another dimension, it certainly lives up to its haunted name.
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