The Cosmic Bat
Located in Ophiuchus and rarely imaged, LDN 43 is a dark nebula consisting of very dense material blocking light from the background stars. Two cometary nebulae (GN 16.31.3 and GN 16.31.7) are found inside the dark nebula area, which certainly looks like a flying bat. The nebula spans 12 light-years at its estimated distance, about 1,400 light-years from planet Earth.
Imaged in LRGB on our RiDK 500 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile.
Processing: Mark Hanson and Mike Selby, Mark Hanson Astrophotography
