Categories: Astrophotos

This Dark Nebula Looks Like it is Writhing in Agony

LBN 438 is a dark nebula and can be found in the constellation Lacerta. Credit and copyright: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona.

We’ve got at least one scary night ahead with Halloween falling on Friday. Adam Block, manager at the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter at the University of Arizona sent us this image of the nebula LBN 438, explaining that this dark cloud of dust glows eerily both from scattered starlight and extended red emission due to the radiation of a nearby star.

“My mind alternates between something dancing in ecstasy or writhing in torture,” Adam said. “Either way, very spooky…”

Adam just happens to have access to a 32-inch Schulman Telescope (RCOS) at Mt Lemmon, and used a SBIG STX16803 CCD Camera to get this scary shot. Find out more about this image here.

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Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/