A rare, but impressive image from space was captured by his lens Hubble telescope. NASA’s state-of-the-art telescope took a picture of a small area of ​​the nebula Westerhout 5, which is about 7,000 light years from Earth.

Filled with bright red light, this luminous image hosts a variety of interesting features, including a free-floating evaporative gas pellet (frEGG). The frEGG in this image is the small dark area in the upper center left.

FrEGGs are a specific class of evaporative gas globules (EGGs). Both frEGGs and EGG they are denser regions of gas that photoevaporate less easily than the less dense gas surrounding them. Photoevaporation occurs when gas is ionized and scattered by an intense source of radiation—typically young, hot stars that release vast amounts of ultraviolet (UV) light.

EGGs were identified quite recently, mainly at the edges of Pillars of Creation recorded by Hubble in 1995.

FrEGGs and EGGs are of particular interest because their density makes it more difficult for intense UV radiation, found in regions rich in young stars, to penetrate. Their relative opacity means that the gas inside is protected from ionization and photoevaporation. Astronomers believe that this is important for the formation of protostars and that many FrEGGs and EGGs host the birth of new stars.

The frEGG in this image is a dark spot in a sea of ​​red light. The color red is a type of light emission known as emission H-alpha. H-alpha occurs when a highly energetic electron within a hydrogen atom loses a set amount of its energy, releasing this characteristic red light as it becomes less energetic.