These massive, swirling funnel clouds are about half a light year across, but not to worry; they are not expected to approach Earth in the near future. They are currently spinning in the Lagoon Nebula in the constellation Sagittarius, 5,000 light-years away from us.

NASA's telescopes first detected these impressive tornadoes with data collected between July and September 1995. Like hurricanes on Earth, the temperature difference between the nebula's hot surface and cooler inner layers, and the pressure of sunlight, may have caused these cloud formations to become distinct vortices.

Image description:

A nebula illuminated in soft shades of blue, green and yellow intersects with a much darker double funnel cloud stretching from the upper left corner of the image to the lower right corner. A red, faintly pixelated star shines through the lower right cloud.

Credits: NASA and A. Caulet (ST-ECF, ESA)