Take a picture of a dark giant object 7 light years long

A recent image released by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) captured a dark cosmic nebula 7 light-years across.

The ancient giant nebula looks like a giant beacon observing the cold black void of space, or like a giant looking for planets to devour, according to Science Alert.

conical nebula

The site stated that “the new image was taken from the European Observatory’s large telescope to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its founding, and the strange subject of the image is the conical nebula, which is part of a larger nebula 2,500 light-years from Earth called “NGC 2264” in the constellation Monoceros.

This pale nebula may not look like most other glowing nebulae with the complex array of colors that telescopes are used to seeing.

dark and thick

This is because not all nebulae are the same, as some reflect the light of nearby stars, while others produce their own light.

Some, like the Cone Nebula, are dark and thick of visible-light-absorbing dust that even light at wavelengths invisible to the human eye, such as infrared and radio, can pass through.