Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Universe Uncovered Hubble’s Partners in Science Hubble & Citizen Science AI & Hubble Science Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Science Operations Astronaut Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts Multimedia Images Videos Online Activities e-Books Sonifications Podcasts 3D Hubble Models Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary News Hubble News Social Media Media Resources 35th Anniversary More Online Activities 4 Min Read NASA’s Hubble Captures Light Show Around Rapidly Dying Star In the image center, an opaque oval cloud of gray gas aligned from 1 o’clock to 7 o’clock hides a star. Two strong beams of light from the star emerge from large holes in both sides of the cloud, forming narrow cones extending toward 10 o’clock and 4 o’clock. The central cloud is surrounded by concentric, wispy shells of gas illuminated by the star’s light. The shells reflect extra light where they’re hit by the twin beams. A crowd of smaller stars with cross-shaped spikes over them surrounds the nebula on a black background. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveals the clearest view yet of the Egg Nebula. Credits:
NASA, ESA, Bruce Balick (UWashington) This stunning image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveals a dramatic interplay of light and shadow in the Egg Nebula, sculpted by freshly ejected stardust. Located approximately 1,000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, the Egg Nebula features a central star obscured by a dense cloud of dust — like a “yolk” nestled within a dark, opaque “egg white.” Only Hubble’s sharpness can unveil the intricate details that hint at the processes shaping this enigmatic structure.

It is the first, youngest, and closest pre-planetary nebula ever discovered. (A pre-planetary nebula is a precursor stage of a planetary nebula, which is a structure of gas and dust formed from the ejected layers of a dying, Sun-like star. The term is a misnomer, as planetary nebulae are not related to planets.) 

In the image center, an opaque oval cloud of gray gas aligned from 1 ou2019clock to 7 ou2019clock hides a star. Two strong beams of light from the star emerge from large holes in both sides of the cloud, forming narrow cones extending toward 10 ou2019clock and 4 ou2019clock. The central cloud is surrounded by concentric, wispy shells of gas illuminated by the staru2019s light. The shells reflect extra light where theyu2019re hit by the twin beams. A crowd of smaller stars with cross-shaped spikes over them surrounds the nebula on a black background. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveals the clearest view yet of the Egg Nebula. This structure of gas and dust was created by a dying, Sun-like star. These newest observations were taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3. NASA, ESA, Bruce Balick (UWashington) The Egg Nebula offers a rare opportunity to test theories of late-stage stellar evolution. At this early phase, the nebula shines by reflecting light from its central star, which escapes through a polar “eye” in the surrounding dust. This light emerges from a dusty disk expelled from the star’s surface just a few hundred years ago.

Twin beams from the dying star illuminate fast-moving polar lobes that pierce a slower, older series of concentric arcs. Their shapes and motions suggest gravitational interactions with one or more hidden companion stars, all buried deep within the thick disk of stardust.

Stars like our Sun shed their outer layers as they exhaust their hydrogen and helium fuel. The exposed core becomes so hot that it ionizes surrounding gas, creating the glowing shells seen in planetary nebulae such as the Helix, Stingray, and Butterfly nebulae. However, the compact Egg Nebula is still in a brief transitional phase — known as the pre-planetary stage — that lasts only a few thousand years. This makes it an ideal time to study the ejection process while the forensic evidence remains fresh.

The symmetrical patterns captured by Hubble are too orderly to result from a violent explosion like a supernova. Instead, the arcs, lobes, and central dust cloud likely stem from a coordinated series of poorly understood sputtering events in the carbon-enriched core of the dying star. Aged stars like these forged and released the dust that eventually seeded future star systems, such as our own solar system, which coalesced into Earth and other rocky planets 4.5 billion years ago.

Hubble has turned its gaze towards the Egg Nebula before. A first visible-light image from the telescope’s WFPC2 (Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2) was complemented in 1997 by a near-infrared NICMOS (Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer) image, giving a closer look at the light given off by the nebula. In 2003, Hubble’s ACS (Advanced Camera for Surveys) yielded a new view of the Egg, showing the full extent of the ripples of dust around it. A further image from WFC3 (Wide Field Camera 3) in 2012 zoomed in on the central dust cloud and dramatic gas outflows. This new image combines the data used to create the 2012 image with additional observations from the same program to deliver the clearest look yet at this intricate cosmic egg.

The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.

Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Related Images & Videos In the image center, an opaque oval cloud of gray gas aligned from 1 ou2019clock to 7 ou2019clock hides a star. Two strong beams of light from the star emerge from large holes in both sides of the cloud, forming narrow cones extending toward 10 ou2019clock and 4 ou2019clock. The central cloud is surrounded by concentric, wispy shells of gas illuminated by the staru2019s light. The shells reflect extra light where theyu2019re hit by the twin beams. A crowd of smaller stars with cross-shaped spikes over them surrounds the nebula on a black background. Egg Nebula NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveals the clearest view yet of the Egg Nebula. This structure of gas and dust was created by a dying, Sun-like star. These newest observations were taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3.

Image titled Egg Nebula, HST WFC3 UVIS and IR. Added elements are compass arrows, scale bar, and color key. nAt center, an oval gray cloud from 1 ou2019clock to 7 ou2019clock hides a star. Two light beams emerge from large holes in both sides of the cloud, forming narrow cones extending toward 10 ou2019clock and 4 ou2019clock. The cloud is surrounded by concentric, wispy shells illuminated by the staru2019s light. The shells reflect extra light where hit by the twin beams. Small stars surround the nebula on a black background.nnAt bottom right, arrows indicate objectu2019s orientation on sky. North arrow points to 11 o'clock. East arrow points to 8 o'clock. At lower left is a scale bar. Top is labeled 0.24 light-years. Bottom is labeled 16.3 arcseconds. Baru2019s length is about one-fourth the imageu2019s width. nnAt top left a color key shows which filters were used to create the image and the color assignment of each. Top line, F606W, F673N, F814W, and F110W are blue. Second line, F110W and F160W are green. Third line, F160W is red. Egg Nebula Compass This image of the Egg Nebula was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope’s WFC3 (Wide Field Camera 3). The image shows a scale bar, compass arrows, and color key for reference.

A still image from an animation. At center, a dusty disk is seen edge-on, looking like a wedge that is thicker on the left side. Narrow tongues of material extend up and down from the center of the disk. Two narrow searchlight beams also extend up and down forming a narrow V shape. Oval shells surround everything to give the nebula an egg shape. Exploring the Structure of the Egg Nebula This visualization examines the Hubble Space Telescope image of the Egg Nebula and showcases the shape and development of its three-dimensional components. The dying star has repeatedly ejected thin shells of gas and dust over the last 5,000 years. During the last 400 years, bipo…

Explore More This Hubble telescope snapshot of MyCn18, a young planetary nebula, reveals that the object has an hourglass shape with an intricate pattern of 'etchings' in its walls. A planetary nebula is the glowing relic of a dying, Sun-like star. Hubble’s Nebulae These ethereal veils of gas and dust tell the story of star birth and death.

A Giant Hubble Mosaic of the Crab Nebula The Death Throes of Stars When stars die, they throw off their outer layers, creating the clouds that birth new stars.

The Pillars of Creation. Three dark brown columns of gas and dust illuminated by starlight. Hubble’s Field Guide to Nebulae (YouTube video) This Hubble guide provides an overview of some of the most resplendent objects in the universe.

Share

Details Last Updated Feb 10, 2026 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Contact Media Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Ann Jenkins, Christine Pulliam
Space Telescope Science Institute
Baltimore, Maryland

Related Terms Hubble Space Telescope Astrophysics Goddard Space Flight Center Nebulae Planetary Nebulae Reflection Nebulae

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Hubble Hubble Space Telescope

Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.


Hubble Science Highlights


Hubble Images


Hubble News

NASA’s Hubble Captures Light Show Around Rapidly Dying Star