Bat Shadow
About This Image
Caption
Astronomers using Hubble previously captured a remarkable image of a young star's unseen, planet-forming disk casting a huge shadow across a more distant cloud in a star-forming region. The star is called HBC 672, and the shadow feature was nicknamed the "Bat Shadow" because it resembles a pair of wings. The nickname turned out to be unexpectedly appropriate, because now those "wings" appear to be flapping!
Credits
NASA, ESA, and STScIKeywords
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Serpens Nebula HBC 672, or [EC 92] 82 |
| Object Description | Reflection nebula and star forming region |
| R.A. Position | 18:29:56.91 |
| Dec. Position | +1:14:45.77 |
| Constellation | Serpens |
| Distance | The object is located about 1,400 light-years away from Earth. |
| Dimensions | Image is 2 arcmin across (about 0.6 light-years) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The HST observations include those from programs 15597 M. Mutchler (STScI) |
| Instrument | WFC3/IR |
| Exposure Dates | 30 August 2018 |
| Filters | F125W, F164N |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3/IR instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Cyan: F125W Orange: F164N |
| Compass Image |  |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |