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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 of our solar system—that light doesn't travel instantaneously across it. In fact, the time it takes for the light to travel from the star out to the perceivable edge of the shadow is about 40 to 45 days.
  • Release Date
    June 25, 2020
  • Science Release
    Hubble Sees Cosmic Flapping ‘Bat Shadow’
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and K. Pontoppidan and J. DePasquale (STScI)

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  • 1280 × 720, 30 FPS
    mp4 (580.08 KB)
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    mp4 (94.73 KB)
  • 2954 × 1972, 30 FPS
    mp4 (3.16 MB)

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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...

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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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