SAEDNEWS: NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day features a red-hued tableau depicting two nebulae shaped like a spider and a fly.
According to NASA, the answer is no—at least in the cosmic sense. If both the Spider and the Fly are giant emission nebulae pointing toward the constellation Auriga, they aren’t predators, just spectacular clouds of gas and dust.
The spider-shaped nebula at the center of the image is actually an emission nebula called IC 417. The smaller, fly-shaped cloud to the left, known as NGC 1931, is both an emission and a reflection nebula.
Both nebulae lie about 10,000 light-years away and host young star clusters. NGC 1931 spans roughly 10 light-years across.
The photo, which required over 20 hours of exposure and was captured in Berkshire, England, also reveals scattered, glowing red interstellar gas and dust.
