Red Spider Nebula NGC 6537 (Hubble and Webb views)

This new NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month features a cosmic creepy-crawly called NGC 6537 or the Red Spider Nebula.

The image on the left shows the Hubble Space Telescope’s view of the nebula. This image, initially released in 2001, shows how the nebula got its nickname. With a narrow waist, four outstretched ‘legs’, and a reddish glow, it certainly resembles a red spider crawling across the sky.

The image on the right shows the new view from Webb, which reveals for the first time the full extent of the nebula’s molecular hydrogen lobes, as well as new evidence for outflowing material from the centre of the nebula.

With more than two decades having passed between Hubble’s observation of the nebula and Webb’s new view, it’s actually possible to see that the nebula has expanded between the two sets of observations!

[Image Description: Two views of a planetary nebula are placed side-by-side. On the left, Hubble’s image shows thick orange clouds of dust forming a cross shape around the star in the centre. On the right, Webb’s image reveals many stars hidden behind the dust clouds, which appear as translucent blue loops that meet at the centre.]