Boogeyman Nebula LDN1622

LDN 1622 is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion, commonly known as the “Boogeyman Nebula”. It gets its nickname from its menacing, shadowy appearance, which resembles a ghostly figure silhouetted against the night sky.

As a dark nebula, LDN 1622 is a dense cloud of interstellar dust and gas that blocks light from the stars and nebulae behind it. It lies near the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, close to Barnard’s Loop, a much larger, faint cloud of glowing hydrogen gas. The nebula is estimated to be approximately 500 light-years away from Earth, making it relatively close when compared to other prominent objects in the Orion complex. It spans a diameter of about 10 light-years across.

Despite its dark appearance, LDN 1622 is an active stellar nursery. The dense, cool gas and dust provide the ideal conditions for new stars to form, which can be observed using infrared telescopes.

This dark nebula creates a striking contrast against the faint, red hydrogen gas of Barnard’s Loop, which lies farther in the background. 

The Boogeyman nebula appears dark because these dense dust particles block visible light from stars and other glowing nebulae behind it. However, the dust can be observed glowing in infrared light, which can penetrate the opaque cloud.