Snake in the Dark

Snake in the Dark



Dark nebulae snakeacross a gorgeous expanse of stars i thiswide-field viewtoward th pronounceableconstellation Ophiucus and the centerof our Milky Way Galaxy.In fact, the centralS-shape seen here is well known as theSnake Nebula.It is also listed as Barnard 72 (B72), one of 18 dark markings of the skycataloged in the early 20th centuryby astronomer E. E. Barnard.Unlike bright emission nebulae and star clusters Barnard's nebulaeare interstellar dark clouds of obscuringgas and dust.Their shapes are visible i cosmic silhouetteonly because they lie in the foreground alon theline of sight to rich star fieldsand glowing stellar nurseries near the plane of our Galaxy.Many of Barnard's dark nebulae are themselves likely sitesof future star formation Barnard 72is a few light years across and about 650 light years away.