Grab the cup, I’ll get the cardboard: this spider is a big one.  

On the plus side, it doesn’t run very fast. Located some 3,000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius, the Red Spider Nebula is home to one of the hottest stars known to man, and its powerful stellar winds generate waves that are 100 billion kilometres high.

These winds flow along the nebula's walls, causing waves of hot gas and dust to collide. It’s this cosmic phenomenon that gives the nebula its distinctive spider shape, while the atoms that get trapped in the shock are responsible for the glow of the Red Spider Nebula. Its colour comes from hydrogen and ionised nitrogen emissions.