• Press Release New image captures spooky bat signal in the sky 31 October 2025 A spooky bat has been spotted flying over the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO’s) Paranal site in Chile, right in time for Halloween. • Thanks to its wide field of view, the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) was able to capture this large cloud of cosmic gas and dust, whose mesmerising appearance resembles the silhouette of a bat. • Located about 10 000 light-years away, this ‘cosmic bat’ is flying between the southern constellations of Circinus and Norma. • Spanning an area of the sky equivalent to four full Moons, it looks as if it’s trying to hunt the glowing spot above it for food. • This nebula is a stellar nursery, a vast cloud of gas and dust from which stars are born. • The infant stars within it release enough energy to excite hydrogen atoms around them, making them glow with the intense shade of red seen in this eye-catching image.
Article Summaries:
- A new image of a star‑forming nebula that resembles a bat has been released by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at Paranal, Chile, captured the 10,000‑light‑year‑away cloud between the Circinus and Norma constellations, using its 268‑megapixel OmegaCAM. The image combines visible‑light data from the VPHAS+ survey with infrared observations from ESO’s VISTA telescope, highlighting the red glow of excited hydrogen and the dark filaments that form the bat’s silhouette. The nebula, part of the RCW 94/95 region, illustrates ESO’s ongoing work in mapping large, complex structures in the Milky Way.
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