East of Antares
影像版權與提供: Johannes Schedler (Panther Observatory)
Explanation:
East of Antares, dark markings seem to sprawl through the crowded star fields toward the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. Cataloged in the early 20th century by astronomer E. E. Barnard, the obscuring interstellar dust clouds include B72, B77, B78, and B59, seen in silhouette against the starry background. Here, their combined shape suggests smoke rising from a pipe, and so the dark nebula's popular name is the Pipe Nebula. This gorgeous and expansive view was recorded in very dark skies over Hakos, Namibia. It covers a full 10 by 7 degree field in the pronounceable constellation Ophiuchus.
說明:
心宿二的東邊，黑色的區域看起來從擁擠的星場向銀河蔓延開來。 由二十世紀早期天文學家 E. E. Barnard 所記錄掩星的星際塵埃雲(interstellar dust clouds)，此區域包含編號B72， B77, B78, 以及 B59，這些從背景星看起來就像是剪影(silhouette)。 這些連起來的形狀就像是從煙斗冒出的菸，因此這個黑暗星雲又稱為煙斗星雲(The Pipe Nebula)。 這張壯麗的照片是在納米比亞的霍克斯(Hakos, Namibia)所拍攝的影像，約有10x7度，落在蛇夫座(Ophiuchus )。
資料來源: Scientific American
Department of Physics, NCKU
