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6 hours ago
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Right in time for Halloween, astronomers have spotted what looks like a flying bat soaring above the European Southern Observatory's (ESO's) Paranal site in Chile. Using its wide field of view, the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) captured a vast cloud of cosmic gas and dust whose ghostly shape mirrors a bat's silhouette.
Located about 10,000 light-years away, this so-called "cosmic bat" appears to be gliding between the southern constellations of Circinus and Norma. The nebula spans an area of the sky roughly four times larger than a full Moon and seems to be chasing a glowing patch of light above it, as if in pursuit of cosmic prey.
This haunting cloud is a stellar nursery -- a massive region of gas and dust where new stars are forming. The young stars within release energy that excites nearby hydrogen atoms, producing the brilliant red glow seen in the image. Dark, threadlike filaments form the bat's "skeleton." These dense, cooler clumps of gas contain tiny dust particles that block the starlight from behind, creating dramatic shadowy features.
Mapping the Bat's Celestial Wings
Among the various clouds cataloged in this region of the southern sky, the brightest are RCW 94 and RCW 95. RCW 94 shapes the bat's right wing, while RCW 95 makes up its body. The rest of the structure remains unnamed, adding a sense of mystery to this eerie formation.
The remarkable image was taken by the VST, which is owned and operated by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and located at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile's Atacama Desert. Equipped with OmegaCAM, a 268-megapixel camera, the telescope is perfectly suited for imaging large celestial regions and revealing breathtaking structures like this one.
A Multicolor View of a Cosmic Phantom
To create this vivid portrait, astronomers combined observations through multiple filters that isolate different wavelengths of light. Most of the glowing red detail was recorded in visible light through the VST Photometric Hα Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Bulge (VPHAS+). Additional infrared data, captured with ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) as part of the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey, reveal hidden details in the nebula's densest regions. Both surveys are publicly available, inviting anyone to explore this hauntingly beautiful corner of the cosmos.
Dare to look closer, and let curiosity guide you through the dark wonders of the universe. Happy Halloween!
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