Butterfly Nebula NGC 6302 (Near-infrared Hubble image)

This view of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302, comes from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Compared to its appearance in visible light, the Butterfly Nebula looks gauzy at near-infrared wavelengths. The red colour that’s most prevalent in this view shows light from hydrogen, while green and blue come from iron that has been ionised.

This Hubble image highlights the Butterfly Nebula’s bipolar shape, showing how its two lobes spread in opposite directions, forming the ‘wings’ of the butterfly. A dark band of dusty gas poses as the butterfly’s ‘body’. This band is actually a doughnut-shaped torus that’s being viewed from the side, hiding the nebula’s central star - the ancient core of a Sun-like star that energises the nebula and causes it to glow. The dusty doughnut may be responsible for the nebula’s insectoid shape by preventing gas from flowing outward from the star equally in all directions. 

[Image description: A planetary nebula called NGC 6302 or the Butterfly Nebula. A dark dust lane runs through the centre of the nebula and two broad clouds emerge from either side of the dust lane like the outstretched wings of a butterfly. The nebula appears cream coloured and most opaque near the centre, then becomes reddish with purple streaks and more translucent out toward the wings of the nebula. There are hundreds of background stars in the image, many of which are visible through the nebula.]