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Bat Shadow Schematic

Bat Shadow Schematic
This illustration shows a fledgling star surrounded by a warped, saddle-shaped disk with two peaks and two dips. A planet embedded in the disk, inclined to the disk's plane, may be causing the warping. As the disk rotates around the young star, it is thought to block the light from that star and cast a varying, flapping shadow on a distant cloud.
  • Release Date
    June 25, 2020
  • Science Release
    Hubble Sees Cosmic Flapping ‘Bat Shadow’
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and A. James and G. Bacon (STScI)

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Related Images & Videos

Bat Shadow

Bat Shadow

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...

Flapping Bat Shadow Video

Flapping Bat Shadow Video

This video shows the "flapping" of the Bat Shadow's wings. This motion is most likely caused by the shadow of a saddle-shaped disk, with two peaks and two dips. The disk must also be flared, like bell-bottom pants or a trumpet. The shadow is so large—about 200 times the length...

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Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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