Dark Wolf Nebula in the constellation Scorpius

Today’s Image of the Day from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) features the Dark Wolf Nebula, located around 5,300 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius.

According to ESO, this image of the dark nebula creates the illusion of a wolf-like silhouette against a colorful cosmic backdrop. 

“This image takes up an area in the sky equivalent to four full Moons, but is actually part of an even larger nebula called Gum 55. If you look closely, the wolf could even be a werewolf, its hands ready to grab unsuspecting bystanders,” noted ESO.

Observing dark nebulae 

Dark nebulae are dense regions in space filled with gas and dust that absorb visible light, making them appear as dark patches against brighter backgrounds. 

Unlike emission or reflection nebulae, dark nebulae do not glow on their own. Instead, they obstruct and obscure the light from stars and other objects lying behind them. 

This characteristic makes them challenging to observe using visible-light telescopes, as they absorb and scatter light rather than reflecting or emitting it. 

However, when viewed in infrared, where their obscuring effect is reduced, dark nebulae reveal intricate details about the molecular clouds they contain.

According to ESO, astronomers study these clouds of frozen dust because they often contain new stars in the making.

Dark Wolf Nebula 

The Dark Wolf Nebula is part of a larger complex known as the Lupus Molecular Cloud, one of several significant star-forming regions close to Earth. 

Inside of dark nebulae, the conditions are prime for star formation. The dense gas and dust clump together under gravitational forces. As these clouds contract, they heat up, eventually igniting nuclear fusion and forming new stars.

The Dark Wolf Nebula is known for revealing young, low-mass stars – or T Tauri stars – which are in the early stages of their evolution. These stars are still surrounded by disks of material that may eventually form new planets.

The constellation Scorpius 

Scorpius is one of the most recognizable constellations in the sky. It resembles a scorpion with a long, curved tail and stinger. 

Located in the southern sky, Scorpius is especially visible during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere and during the winter months in the Southern Hemisphere. 

The constellation is often associated with the story of Orion in Greek mythology. According to legend, the scorpion was sent by the goddess Artemis to kill Orion, the great hunter, either as punishment for his arrogance or to protect her animals, depending on the version of the tale. 

The gods later placed both Orion and Scorpius in the sky, but in opposite parts of the heavens so they would never be seen together – as Scorpius rises in the east and Orion sets in the west.

Scorpius contains several notable stars and deep-sky objects. Its brightest star, Antares, is a red supergiant often referred to as the “heart of the scorpion” due to its reddish hue and central position. 

Antares is one of the largest visible stars in the sky and has a luminosity that is tens of thousands of times greater than that of our Sun. 

Scorpius is located close to the core of the Milky Way, making it a rich region for star clusters and nebulae. Among these are the Butterfly Cluster and the Ptolemy Cluster – both of which are visible to the naked eye under dark skies.

Image of the Dark Wolf Nebula

“This image shows in spectacular detail how the dark wolf stands out against the glowing star-forming clouds behind it,” noted ESO.

“The colorful clouds are built up mostly of hydrogen gas and glow in reddish tones excited by the intense UV radiation from the newborn stars within them.”

The picture was created from images taken at different times. Each of the images has a filter that makes a different color of light visible. 

Observations of the Dark Wolf Nebula provide astronomers with valuable information about the evolution of stars and the environments in which they form.

The image was captured by the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile.

Image Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team

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