October 31, 2022
If the universe seems cold from a distance, birthdays are part of its rebuttal.
LDN 43: The Cosmic Bat Nebula
Birthday · October 31, 2022
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APOD published October 31, 2022. Credit: Mark Hanson and Mike Selby; Text: Michelle Thaller (NASA's GSFC). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
What is the most spook-tacular nebula in the galaxy? One contender is LDN 43, which bears an astonishing resemblance to a vast cosmic bat flying amongst the stars on a dark Halloween night. Located about 1400 light years away in the constellation Ophiuchus, this 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. Glowing with eerie light, the bat is lit up from inside by dense gaseous knots that have just formed young stars. Celebrate: Halloween With NASA Online
Image credit: Mark Hanson and Mike Selby; Text: Michelle Thaller (NASA's GSFC)