Overview
- The wide-field portrait merges VST H-alpha observations from the VPHAS+ survey with VISTA VVV infrared images.
- The structure spans roughly four full Moons across the sky between Circinus and Norma in the southern Milky Way.
- Bright regions cataloged as RCW 94 and RCW 95 form the right wing and body of the bat-shaped complex, respectively.
- The red glow traces hydrogen gas ionized by young, massive stars, while dark filaments mark colder, denser dust that blocks starlight.
- VST’s 268-megapixel OmegaCAM captured the scene at Paranal, with survey datasets available for public and scientific use.