This Dark Nebula Looks Like it is Writhing in Agony

By Nancy Atkinson - October 29, 2014 at 3:43 PM UTC | Stars

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

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com