IC 1318, also known as the Butterfly Nebula, is an impressive cloud of gas and dust in space found in the constellation of the Swan. Its popular name comes from its shape, which when viewed through a telescope or in photos, resembles a butterfly spreading its wings across the sky.
This nebula is near a very bright star called Sadr, which is the heart of the Swan constellation. In fact, IC 1318 is in a very active region of space, where new stars are being born. When young stars emit radiation, they illuminate the gas around them, making the nebula glow with reddish and orange colors, due to the hydrogen that is being excited by the light from these stars.
The Butterfly Nebula is not a single object, but is actually divided into several parts by dark bands of dust, which are like paths cutting through the butterfly’s wings. These dust lanes block starlight and create the divisions that give it its distinctive shape.