Sign up for free

Newsletters

Once a month
get new photos
and expert tips.

Science and Space
Main Health and Human Body Earth Space Prehistoric World A-Z

Swan Nebula

Radiation from nearby stars sculpts a roiling wave of gas and dust—a section of the Swan Nebula roughly three-light years across. The Hubble Space Telescope's penetrating vision has helped explain how stars are born in such complex regions and has also provided a clearer view of how stars evolve. A mosaic of 36 Hubble pictures combined with a wide view from a telescope on Arizona's Kitt Peak produced this image.

Photograph courtesy NASA/STSCI/Jeff Hester, Arizona State University