Hubble Reveals Clearest View Yet of the Egg Nebula

The Hubble Space Telescope reveals the clearest view yet of the Egg Nebula, a structure of gas and dust created by a dying, Sun-like star about 1,000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. A central star sits hidden inside a dense cloud of dust — a “yolk” within an opaque “egg white” — and only Hubble’s sharpness can unveil the intricate details of this first, youngest, and closest pre-planetary nebula.

At this early phase the nebula shines by reflecting light from its central star, which escapes through a polar “eye” in the surrounding dust. That light emerges from a dusty disk expelled from the star’s surface a few hundred years ago; twin beams illuminate fast-moving polar lobes that pierce a slower, older series of concentric arcs.

Their shapes and motions point to gravitational interactions with one or more hidden companion stars, buried deep within the thick disk.

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