Dark Wolf Nebula: cosmic silhouette unveiled for Halloween
The European Southern Observatory has prepared a Halloween treat for all astronomy enthusiasts: an extraordinary image of a dark nebula resembling a wolf's silhouette against a vibrant cosmic backdrop. The photo was captured using the VST telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile.
The Dark Wolf Nebula is visible in the sky within the constellation of Scorpius, not far from the centre of the Milky Way. It is approximately 5,600 light-years from Earth and is part of the larger Gum 55 nebula. The image spans an area of the sky equivalent to four full Moons.
The photograph was unveiled by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in celebration of Halloween. In the announcement, it was noted that if you closely examine the details, the wolf might even resemble a werewolf, appearing ready to snatch unsuspecting victims with its paws.
"If you thought that darkness equals emptiness, think again," the announcement declared.
Cold clouds of dust absorbing starlight
ESO's resources explain that dark nebulae in space are frigid clouds of dust so dense they obscure the light from stars positioned further behind them. Unlike other types of nebulae, these objects do not emit visible light because the dust particles absorb this range of radiation. However, infrared radiation is capable of penetrating through them.
ESO also highlighted that some dark nebulae can be seen with the naked eye. One example is the Coal Sack Nebula. The Mapuche, the indigenous people of south-central Chile, refer to the Coal Sack Nebula as "pozoko," meaning a water well. Meanwhile, the Incas called this object "yutu," referring to a bird akin to a partridge.
Cosmic werewolf seen from Chile
The image of the cosmic dark wolf was captured with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), a sky survey telescope located at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. The telescope is operated by the National Institute for Astrophysics in Italy (INAF). It is equipped with a camera specifically designed to survey the sky in the visible spectrum.
The displayed image contains 283 million pixels and is a composite of photographs taken at various times and with different filters, as part of a project dubbed the VST Photometric Hα Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Bulge (VPHAS+), which examined about 500 million objects within the Milky Way.
