LDN 43 - The Cosmic Bat Nebula !
Courtesy:
Matthieu TEQUI /Pontaubert, Bourgogne, Yonne, France,
Gary Imm / Onalaska, Texas, United States
Daniel Stern / Rio Hurtado, Chile
The Cosmic Bat - LDN43 !
The bat-shaped molecular condensation appears to be an evolutionary gradient along the isolated filament in which LDN43 is embedded, itself part of the Sco OB2 complex (group of young, hot, and massive stars of class O and B, the brightest in the sky).
The Sco OB2 complex is a large star-forming region centered in the constellation Scorpius. It is the closest cloud to us and it is one of the most spectacular and photographed areas of the entire Milky Way. It is full of molecular clouds and dust, young and massive star clusters, emission, and reflection nebulae.
Courtesy: Massimo Di Fusco