NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captures images of the “cotton candy” region in space. See image

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) regularly captures stunning images of our universe, leaving space enthusiasts in awe. The US space agency’s social media is a treasure trove for those who love watching educational videos and stunning images showcasing Earth and space. Now, NASA has recently shared a stunning image of a cluster of nebulae called N11, located about 160,000 light-years away in the constellation Dorado. This complex group of emission nebulae was discovered by American astronomer and NASA astronaut Carl Gordon in 1956. The image was captured by the space agency’s Hubble Space Telescope.

In a statement, NASA described the ethereal image as a “bubbly region of stars.” “About 1,000 light-years away, N11's elongated filaments weave stellar matter in and out of each other like shimmering cotton candy,” the agency said. NASA“These cotton-like gas clouds are ionized by a growing population of massive young stars, giving the complex a cherry-pink appearance,” she continued.

According to the space agency, the N11 complex consists of a group of emission nebulae — formations made up of light-emitting clouds of gas and dust. It is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a dwarf galaxy neighboring our own Milky Way.

N11 is one of the largest and most active regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This dwarf galaxy is also a satellite galaxy, meaning it orbits the Milky Way. It’s a relatively small galaxy, but it’s an active place for star formation. According to NASA, N11 is one of the largest and most active regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Scientists are using Hubble to better understand the types of stars within N11 and how they are distributed.

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“All around N11, enormous cavities of haze have erupted. These bubbles were formed by the powerful emergence and death of stars in the nebula. Their stellar winds and supernovae have sculpted the surrounding region into shells of gas and dust,” NASA explained.

A nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space. Some nebulae (more than one) come from the gas and dust left behind by the explosion of a dying star, such as a supernova. Other nebulae are regions where new stars are just beginning to form.

Nebulae are beautiful to look at, and they can tell us about how stars are born, live and die. Our sun formed in a nebula about 4.6 billion years ago.