Known as the Witch Head Nebula, the distant gathering of dust, debris and stars which is 1,000 light years from Earth, has what appears to be a nose, eyes and lips, all seen as if you were looking at a profile of a woman. NASA said the nebula is made of the usual ingredients in which the mesmeric cosmic structures are made from – dust and gas – all coming together to create the familiar shape of a woman’s head.
The space agency said: “By starlight this eerie visage shines in the dark, a crooked profile evoking its popular name, the Witch Head Nebula.
“In fact, this entrancing telescopic portrait gives the impression the witch has fixed her gaze on Orion’s bright supergiant star Rigel.
“Spanning over 50 light-years, the dusty cosmic cloud strongly reflects nearby Rigel’s blue light, giving it the characteristic colour of a reflection nebula.
“Catalogued as IC 2118, the Witch Head Nebula is about 1,000 light-years away.”
However, conspiracy theorists were not so convinced by NASA’s explanation of the distant nebula.
And one believes an advanced form of aliens manipulated the nebula to create the familiar shape.
Prominent alien hunter Scott C Waring even went as far as to say the aliens who created it are god-like, and created the shape as a sort of cosmic statue.
Mr Waring wrote on his blog ET Database: “Needless to say, its clear NASA too saw the head of the person and even went as far as to name it ‘the Witch Head Nebula’.
READ MORE: Alien life search: ‘Surprising number’ of exoplanets could boast life
However, sceptics and NASA say the structure and other similar findings are just the effects of pareidolia – a psychological phenomenon when the brain tricks the eyes into seeing familiar objects or shapes where they do not exist.
NASA said: “Pareidolia is the psychological phenomenon where people see recognisable shapes in clouds, rock formations, or otherwise unrelated objects or data.
“There are many examples of this phenomenon on Earth and in space.”