AstraPharma
LDN 43 - The Dark Bat Nebula
Description:
Either the universe enjoys Halloween aesthetics, or someone, somewhere in the cosmos is in dire need of the masked vigilante known here on Earth as Batman, the Dark Knight, to cleanse their world of undesirables. This is a Bat-Signal if I’ve ever seen one, and it is the only rational explanation for such a signal emerging from the Interstellar Medium.
Well… either that, or there was a slow collapse and fragmentation of a giant cloud that gathered extremely cold gas and microscopic dust particles through gravity into denser and denser regions over millions of years, eventually creating a shape that somewhat resembles a bat. Now tell me which is more likely… Exactly!!
This is LDN 43, better known as the Dark Bat Nebula, a dense molecular cloud located within our galaxy. Rather than shining brightly like an emission nebula, clouds like these reveal themselves by doing the exact opposite: absorbing and blocking the light of the stars behind them. The result is a cosmic silhouette so striking that nature accidentally recreated one of humanity’s most recognizable modern symbols.
Captured from the desert skies of Kuwait using my Askar 140 APO at a focal length of 784.2mm, this image was a pleasure to shoot and a nightmare to process. Enjoy!
Equipment:
Imaging Telescopes: 2x Askar 140APO
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
Equatorial mounts used: MLAstro SAL-33 · Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro · ZWO AM5N
Filters:
Antlia Luminance 36 mm Chroma Blue 36 mm Chroma Green 36 mm Chroma Red 36 mm
Accessories: Askar 0.8x Full Frame Reducer / Flattener for 140APO Telescope
Acquisition details
Dates: May 11 - 12, 2026
Sub frames:
Luminance: 116×300″(9h 40′)
Blue: 23×300″(1h 55′)
Green: 40×300″(3h 20′)
Red: 36×300″(3h)
Total integration: 17h 55′
Locations: Al Salmy Desert, Al Jahra Governorate, Kuwait
LDN 43 - The Dark Bat Nebula
Description:
Either the universe enjoys Halloween aesthetics, or someone, somewhere in the cosmos is in dire need of the masked vigilante known here on Earth as Batman, the Dark Knight, to cleanse their world of undesirables. This is a Bat-Signal if I’ve ever seen one, and it is the only rational explanation for such a signal emerging from the Interstellar Medium.
Well… either that, or there was a slow collapse and fragmentation of a giant cloud that gathered extremely cold gas and microscopic dust particles through gravity into denser and denser regions over millions of years, eventually creating a shape that somewhat resembles a bat. Now tell me which is more likely… Exactly!!
This is LDN 43, better known as the Dark Bat Nebula, a dense molecular cloud located within our galaxy. Rather than shining brightly like an emission nebula, clouds like these reveal themselves by doing the exact opposite: absorbing and blocking the light of the stars behind them. The result is a cosmic silhouette so striking that nature accidentally recreated one of humanity’s most recognizable modern symbols.
Captured from the desert skies of Kuwait using my Askar 140 APO at a focal length of 784.2mm, this image was a pleasure to shoot and a nightmare to process. Enjoy!
Equipment:
Imaging Telescopes: 2x Askar 140APO
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
Equatorial mounts used: MLAstro SAL-33 · Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro · ZWO AM5N
Filters:
Antlia Luminance 36 mm Chroma Blue 36 mm Chroma Green 36 mm Chroma Red 36 mm
Accessories: Askar 0.8x Full Frame Reducer / Flattener for 140APO Telescope
Acquisition details
Dates: May 11 - 12, 2026
Sub frames:
Luminance: 116×300″(9h 40′)
Blue: 23×300″(1h 55′)
Green: 40×300″(3h 20′)
Red: 36×300″(3h)
Total integration: 17h 55′
Locations: Al Salmy Desert, Al Jahra Governorate, Kuwait