Active regions on the sun combined to look something like a jack-o-lantern’s face on Oct. 8, 2014.
NASA/GSFC/SDO

The Spookiest Places in the Universe

  • 29th Oct 2024
  • Author: Lucy Spencer

When it comes to scary wonders, space holds some of the universe’s creepiest secrets. From vampire stars to cosmic pumpkins, let’s take a trip through the spookiest places in the universe.

Spooky Stars

  1. New research using data from European Southern Observatory telescopes, including the Very Large Telescope, has revealed that the hottest and brightest stars, known as O stars, are often found in close pairs. Many of these binaries transfer mass from one star to another, a kind of stellar vampirism depicted in this artist's impression.
    Illustration: ESA, NASA, L. Calcada (ESO), and S.E. de Mink (STScI); Science: ESA, NASA, H. Sana (Amsterdam University), and S.E. de Mink (STScI)

    Vampire Stars: Bloodsuckers in the Cosmos

    In the Halloween spirit of creatures of the night, “vampire stars” are real celestial objects that live up to their name. These are binary stars where one of the stars “drains” material from its companion. Typically, a small hot star such as a white dwarf (the leftover core of a dead star) sucks the outer layers of gas from a larger cooler star, often a red giant.

    As the “vampire” star consumes this material, it grows brighter and more massive, sometimes emitting bursts of intense radiation as it feasts. This accretion of matter can even lead to temporary rejuvenation of the vampire star, making it appear younger and hotter. This process can go on for millions of years, transforming the vampire star and altering the entire system.

  2. A composite image shows the remains of supernova SN 1181, a cataclysmic collision of two stars. The spherical nebula has at its centre a hot white dwarf, or "zombie star," left behind after the likely merger.
    NASA/ESA/USAF/NSF

    Zombie Stars: The Cosmic Undead

    After a white dwarf star has run out of nuclear fuel and collapsed into a dense remnant, it typically spends its “afterlife” cooling in space. But zombie stars refuse to stay dead...

    Similar to a vampire star, a white dwarf star in a binary system pulls matter from its companion star, but while vampire stars become more active and luminous through this process, zombie stars push the relationship to the extreme, reaching a point where the “undead” star re-ignites and explodes in a supernova, making a final and dramatic end.

  3. An artist's impression of a pulsar syphoning material from a companion star.
    NASA/CXC/M.Weiss

    Black Widow Pulsars: The Cosmic Predators

    “Spider” systems in space are named after a unique class of pulsars known as black widow pulsars. Like their earthly namesakes, these celestial "black widows" devour their partners in a gruesome cosmic dance. Like Vampire and Zombie stars, this involves a binary star system, but with a pulsar (a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star) and a smaller companion star.

    The pulsar’s intense radiation and powerful gravitational pull slowly strip away material from its companion star, devouring it piece by piece. Eventually, the companion star might be entirely obliterated, leaving the pulsar alone in its predatory reign.

Scary Nebulae

Nebulae are vast clouds of interstellar dust and gas, which are some of the most beautiful structures in the universe, but some of them are very spooky!

  1. The full beauty of the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is revealed in this new, detailed view from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The image from Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) shows a bull's eye pattern of eleven or even more concentric rings, or shells, around the Cat's Eye.
    NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

    The Cat's Eye Nebula

    The Cat’s Eye Nebula, located about 3,300 light-years away in the constellation Draco, is a planetary nebula formed from the remnants of a dying star that hauntingly resembles a piercing cat’s eye.

    The central star at the heart of the nebula is extremely hot, emitting powerful ultraviolet radiation in phases, which ionizes the surrounding gas causing it to glow, and produces layers that look like multiple shells nested within one another. Some astronomers believe that the nebula’s unique structure may have resulted from interactions between the central star and another nearby star or from processes within the star itself, like intense stellar winds that shaped the outflowing gas into rings and bubbles.

  2. Jack o Lantern Nebula This infrared image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope shows a cloud of gas and dust carved out by a massive star.
    NASA/JPL-Caltech

    The Jack-O’-Lantern Nebula

    What Halloween would be complete without a jack-o’-lantern? Well, the universe has one of its own! Located around 15,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Aquilla, the glowing orange nebula is shaped like a carved pumpkin.

    The nebula’s eerie shape and orange glow comes from a massive star in its centre, which emits intense radiation that causes the surrounding dust and gas to glow. The star also created powerful stellar winds that carve out patterns in the gas, forming the pumpkin-like structure. The central star is so massive that it’s likely to end its life in a powerful supernova explosion, illuminating the nebula even more dramatically before it collapses into a neutron star or a black hole.

  3. As the name implies, this reflection nebula associated with the star Rigel looks suspiciously like a fairytale crone. Formally known as IC 2118 in the constellation Orion, the Witch Head Nebula glows primarily by light reflected from the star.
    NASA/STScI Digitized Sky Survey/Noel Carboni

    The Witch Head Nebula

    This spooky-looking reflection nebula looks hauntingly like the profile of a witch with a pointed chin, hooked nose and ghoulish expression! It is located about 900 light-years away in the constellation Eridanus, near the super bright star Rigel in Orion which illuminates the nebula from its intense light.

    The blue hue of the Witch Head Nebula comes from the way Rigel’s light scatters off the dust particles within the nebula, similar to how the Earth’s atmosphere scatters sunlight to create blue skies.

  4. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago, the Veil Nebula
    NASA/STScI

    The Veil Nebula

    A true Halloween haunt, the Veil Nebula is a large cloud of ionized gas and dust, remnants of a supernova that exploded around 8,000 years ago. Situated about 2,100 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, this nebula appears as ghostly wisps across the sky, stretching across roughly 110 light-years.

    The Veil Nebula’s colours and shapes are due to the powerful shockwaves from the original explosion, which continue to expand and interact with the interstellar medium. Its filaments glow in eerie greens, blues, and reds, making it look like a cosmic ghost drifting through the dark. Some sections are even nicknamed “The Witch’s Broom,” because of their wispy, spindly appearance.

  5. The spider part of “The Spider and the Fly” nebulae, IC 417 abounds in star formation, as seen in this infrared image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS).
    NASA/JPL-Caltech/2MASS

    The Spider and the Fly Nebula

    Our next stop in the Halloween space tour takes us to the Arachnid Nebula, also known as the Spider and the Fly Nebula. This spooky duo is a pair of nebulae located in the constellation of Auriga, around 10,000 light-years from Earth.

    The Arachnid Nebula is a planetary nebula, formed from the remnants of a dying star. The “spider” section of the nebula has long, wispy arms of gas extending outward, while the “fly” component is smaller and more rounded, like a trapped prey caught in the spider’s web. The shape is the result of the intense radiation from the central star, which pushes gas outward in specific patterns, creating a structure that looks like a cosmic predator and prey scenario.

  6. HaRGB image of The Skull Nebula (NGC 246). Data from the Liverpool Telescope (a 2 m RC telescope on La Palma) processed by Göran Nilsson.
    Göran Nilsson & The Liverpool Telescope

    The Skull Nebula

    Located about 1,600 light-years away in the constellation Cetus, the Skull Nebula is a planetary nebula with a shape that resembles a ghostly, skull-like face, complete with hollow "eye sockets" and a gaping "mouth”.

    At the heart of the Skull Nebula is a binary system: the original dying star and a companion star orbiting each other. This interaction may have contributed to the nebula’s unusual shape, as the gravitational dynamics in binary systems often cause the material to be distributed in unique patterns.

  1. A screenshot from Stellarium of the Boötes Nebula, where the Boötes Void is located.
    Stellarium

    Honourable Mention: The Boötes Void, a Cosmic Hole of Nothingness

    To add a dose of true cosmic horror, the Boötes Void located in the constellation Boötes, is a region of space so vast and empty that it's sometimes referred to as "The Great Nothing." This colossal void spans over 250 million light-years across and contains hardly any galaxies. For astronomers, it’s a mystery why this part of space is so empty. The void’s seemingly endless darkness and emptiness give it a particularly unnerving reputation.

The universe is filled with structures and phenomena that rival even the most chilling Halloween tales. These eerie objects remind us of the haunting mysteries space holds. This Halloween, look up at the night sky and remember that beyond the stars lies a vast, dark universe—filled with cosmic ghosts, undead stars, and shadowy mysteries that await discovery.

Happy Halloween!

Full references / credits:

(Banner) Active regions on the sun combined to look something like a jack-o-lantern’s face on Oct. 8, 2014. Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

(1) New research using data from European Southern Observatory telescopes, including the Very Large Telescope, has revealed that the hottest and brightest stars, known as O stars, are often found in close pairs. Many of these binaries transfer mass from one star to another, a kind of stellar vampirism depicted in this artist's impression. Credit: Illustration: ESA, NASA, L. Calcada (ESO), and S.E. de Mink (STScI); Science: ESA, NASA, H. Sana (Amsterdam University), and S.E. de Mink (STScI)

(2) A composite image shows the remains of supernova SN 1181, a cataclysmic collision of two stars. The spherical nebula has at its centre a hot white dwarf, or "zombie star," left behind after the likely merger. Credit: NASA/ESA/USAF/NSF

(3) An artist's impression of a pulsar syphoning material from a companion star. Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss

(4) The full beauty of the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is revealed in this new, detailed view from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The image from Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) shows a bull's eye pattern of eleven or even more concentric rings, or shells, around the Cat's Eye. Credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

(5) Jack o Lantern Nebula This infrared image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope shows a cloud of gas and dust carved out by a massive star. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

(6) As the name implies, this reflection nebula associated with the star Rigel looks suspiciously like a fairytale crone. Formally known as IC 2118 in the constellation Orion, the Witch Head Nebula glows primarily by light reflected from the star. Credit: NASA/STScI Digitized Sky Survey/Noel Carboni

(7) NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago, the Veil Nebula. Credit: NASA/STScI

(8) The spider part of “The Spider and the Fly” nebulae, IC 417 abounds in star formation, as seen in this infrared image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/2MASS

(9) HaRGB image of The Skull Nebula (NGC 246). Data from the Liverpool Telescope (a 2 m RC telescope on La Palma) processed by Göran Nilsson. Credit: Göran Nilsson & The Liverpool Telescope

(10) A screenshot from Stellarium of the Boötes Nebula, where the Boötes Void is located. Credit: Stellarium