Paranormal discovery: Dark wolf nebula captured from Chile
The European Southern Observatory has prepared a Halloween treat for astronomy enthusiasts—an extraordinary spooky image of a dark nebula resembling a wolf's silhouette against a vibrant cosmic backdrop. The photo was taken using the VST telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile.
The Dark Wolf Nebula is visible in the sky in the constellation of Scorpius, not far from the centre of the Milky Way. It is approximately 5,800 light-years from Earth and forms part of the larger Gum 55 nebula. The image covers an area of the sky equivalent to four full Moons.
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) presented the photograph in celebration of Halloween. In their announcement, they noted that if you look closely at the details, the wolf might even resemble a werewolf, as if poised to catch unsuspecting victims with its paws.
"If you thought that darkness equals emptiness, think again," the announcement stated.
Cold clouds of dust absorbing starlight
ESO's services explain that dark nebulae in space are cold clouds of dust so dense they obscure the starlight from those further behind them. Unlike other types of nebulae, these objects do not emit visible light because dust particles absorb such radiation. However, infrared radiation can pass through them.
ESO also pointed out that some dark nebulae can be seen with the naked eye. The Coal Sack Nebula is one example. The Mapuche, people living in south-central Chile, call it "pozoko," meaning a water well. Meanwhile, the Incas called this object "yutu," a bird resembling a partridge.
cosmic werewolf seen from Chile
The VLT Survey Telescope (VST), a sky survey telescope operating at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, captured the image of the cosmic dark wolf. The telescope is owned by the National Institute for Astrophysics in Italy (INAF) and is equipped with a camera uniquely designed to map the sky in the visible spectrum.
The featured image has 283 million pixels and is a composite of photographs taken at various times with different filters. This is part of the VST Photometric Hα Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Bulge (VPHAS+) project, which examined approximately 500 million objects in the Milky Way.
