This image, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, shows a small region of the Westerhout 5 nebula, located about 7000 thousand light-years from Earth. Bathed in bright red light, this luminous scene is home to a variety of interesting features, including a free-floating Sphere of Evaporating Gas (frEGG), pictured in the upper left centre region of the image.

FrEGGs are regions of denser gas that are less photoevaporated than the dense gas surrounding them. Photoevaporation occurs when gas is ionised and scattered by an intense source of radiation - typically young, hot stars emitting large amounts of ultraviolet (UV) light. The opacity of frEGGs means that the gas inside them is protected from ionisation and photoevaporation - thought by astronomers to be important for the formation of protostars - making frEGGs possible hosts for the birth of new stars.

Image description:

The background is filled with bright orange-red clouds of varying intensity. Several large, pale blue stars with prominent cruciform spikes are scattered towards the upper left. A small, tadpole-shaped dark spot floats near one of these stars. More of the same dark, dense gas fills the lower right side, resembling black smoke. A bright yellow star and a smaller blue star shine in front of it.