Cosmic Bat Nebula, LDN 43 (cropped)

Cosmic Bat Nebula, LDN 43  LDN 43  bears an astonishing resemblance to a vast cosmic bat flying amongst the stars . Located about 1400 light years away in the constellation Ophiuchus, this molecular cloud is dense enough t0 block light not only from background stars, but from wisps of gas lit up by the nearby reflection nebula LDN 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 intense gaseous knots that have just formed young stars. This image is in true color. It was a difficult image to process because the nebula was only slightly brighter than the background. It was necessary to remove the stars in order to bring out the cosmic bat shape from its surroundings. The sequence was to start with a luminance layer then add the color in and then add the stars back in at the end. It was taken with an Astro Physics 305 telescope at 1160mm focal length in New South Wales Australia.