The Dark Wolf Nebula: SL 17 in Scorpius | ESO VLT Survey Telescope

The Dark Wolf Nebula: SL 17 in Scorpius | ESO VLT Survey Telescope

This image shows a dark nebula at the center of the picture, against a background of reddish fumes. The shape of the dark nebulous cloud can appear to resemble a wolf’s head, looking to the right. Surrounding the dark nebula are bright white stars of a variety of sizes appearing as tiny dots and bigger gassy spheres.

Fittingly nicknamed the Dark Wolf Nebula, this cosmic cloud was captured in a 283-million-pixel image by the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. Located around 5,300 light-years from Earth, the cold clouds of cosmic dust create the illusion of a wolf-like silhouette against a colorful backdrop of glowing gas clouds.

Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team

Release Date: Oct. 31, 2024

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