This cosmic keyhole, captured by NASA's Hubble space telescope, is located in the constellation Orion, about 1,350 light-years from Earth. This ghostly, cotton candy-like nebula is made up of debris from the birth of a new star, Orionis.

This special type of formation is called a reflection nebula. The gas and dust in these nebulae shine from an internal source, just as a street lamp illuminates the surrounding fog at night. In this case, the source of light is Orionis at the centre of the image.

Image description:

The image is dominated by an eerie, billowing mass of gas and dust. This cottony debris glows white towards the centre, then fades to rusty red along its boundary. A boldly defined gap in the cloud is at the centre of the image, revealing the black void behind it. The source of the glow, Orionis, appears as a bright glow just to the left of the nebula's void.