Dark and Smoky: The Pipe Nebula

The Pipe Nebula is a dark nebula in the constellation of Ophiuchus (the Serpent Bearer). This cloud of gas and dust stretches over a huge area in the sky, and it belongs to an even larger complex nicknamed the Dark Horse Nebula. Despite its dimness, observers easily can spot the Pipe Nebula with the unaided eye from dark locations. It is located about a third of the way from the Lagoon Nebula to the star Antares.

When gazing at the Pipe Nebula, two prominent features stand out: the distinctively shaped Pipe Stem and the Bowl of the Pipe. The nebula’s opaque, pipe-smoke-shaped clouds absorb and block the starlight of the background Milky Way stars.

Edward Emerson Barnard, a pioneer of astrophotography, catalogued a series of dark nebulae, recording this one as Barnard 59, 65–67 (the Pipe Stem, also known as LDN 1773) and Barnard 78 (the Bowl of the Pipe, also known as LDN 42).