LDN 43: The Cosmic Bat Nebula #Space
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

A starfield is shown with a large brown dust nebula
in the center. The nebula appears, to some, to be shaped
like a bat. One of the stars in the dust nebula even appears
to be the eye of the bat.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
Explanation:
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.

Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241027.html

LDN 43: The Cosmic Bat Nebula #Space