Which nebula is considered one of the most eerily beautiful galaxies?

Floating among the stars on a dark Halloween night, LDN43 is strikingly similar to the figure of a bat.

Located about 1400 light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus, this molecular cloud is dense enough to eclipse not only the light of background stars, but also the glow of the nearby LBN 7 reflection nebula. While it may look like a harbinger of death, this 12-light-year-long ribbon of gas and dust is actually a stellar cradle. With its eerie bat-like appearance, the nebula glows with dense clumps of gas that allow the young stars inside to shine.

October 27, 2024 Astronomy Photo of the Day (NASA APOD)

Source and Copyright: Mark Hanson and Mike Selby