A Cosmic Bat in Flight

Hidden in one of the darkest corners of the Orion constellation, this Cosmic Bat is spreading its hazy wings through interstellar space two thousand light-years away. It is illuminated by the young stars nestled in its core — despite being shrouded by opaque clouds of dust, their bright rays still illuminate the nebula. Too dim to be discerned by the naked eye, NGC 1788 reveals its soft colours to ESO's Very Large Telescope in this image — the most detailed to date.

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:eso1904a
Type:Observation
Release date:14 March 2019, 15:00
Related releases:eso1904
Size:1683 x 1642 px

About the Object

Name:NGC 1788
Type:Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Reflection
Constellation:Orion
Category:Nebulae

Image Formats

Large JPEG
590.0 KB
Screensize JPEG
158.7 KB

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Coordinates

Position (RA):5 6 53.20
Position (Dec):-3° 21' 11.79"
Field of view:7.07 x 6.90 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.1° right of vertical

Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Infrared
b
440 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS2
Optical
v
557 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS2
Optical
R
655 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS2