The Cosmic Bat Nebula: LDN 43 in Ophiuchus

The Cosmic Bat Nebula: LDN 43 in Ophiuchus

Image Description: A starfield is shown with a large brown dust nebula in the center. The nebula can appear to be shaped like a bat. One of the stars in the dust nebula can resemble a bat's eye.

What is the most spook-tacular nebula in the galaxy? One contender is LDN 43. Glowing with eerie light, this nebula is lit up from inside by dense gaseous knots that have just formed young stars. It bears an astonishing resemblance to a vast cosmic bat flying amongst the stars on a dark Halloween night. Located about 1,400 light years away in the constellation Ophiuchus, the LDN 43 molecular cloud is dense enough to block light not only from background stars, but from wisps of gas lit up by the nearby reflection nebula LBN 7. Far from being a harbinger of death, this 12-light year-long filament of gas and dust is actually a stellar nursery.

Image Credit & Copyright: Mark Hanson & Mike Selby

Mark Hanson's website: https://www.hansonastronomy.com/bio

Mike Selby: https://throughlightandtime.com/about/

Caption Credit: NASA Astronomer Michelle Thaller (GSFC)

Michelle Thaller: https://science.nasa.gov/people/michelle-thaller/

Release Date: October 27, 2024

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