NASA/ESA captures 'gateway to another universe'

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a breathtaking image from a distant region of space 1,350 light years away.

According to Science Alert, the ghostly object, called NGC 1999 , is actually a "reflection nebula ." It can be thought of as a piece of debris left behind after the process of star formation, in this case a system of many small stars called V380 Orionis in the constellation Orion.

The ghostly nebula is located quite close to the famous stellar nursery known as the Orion Nebula , which is also the closest stellar nursery to Earth.

Spectacular images just released by ESA - (Photo: ESA/NASA/ESO)

The void between the reflection nebulae, called by scientists the "keyhole of the universe" or "gateway to another universe", is the nebula's most curious feature.

The ESA initially thought it was likely a rare astronomical object called a Bok globule, a dense, cold, extremely dark cloud.

However, the completed research steps show that it is indeed a giant hole, surrounded by a glowing fog. Although it is believed to be the result of star formation, the specific mechanism that created the strange hole is still something that scientists have not clearly explained.

To let astronomy lovers around the world admire the mysterious object, scientists combined Hubble data with images from ESA's Herschel Space Observatory, slightly adjusting the color to create the photo just released by ESA.