APOD 2.5

E.E. Barnard, in the early 1900s, spotted a strange stretch of dark marks east of Scorpio's bright star Antares and in the constellation Ophiucus, behind B59, B72, B77, and B78, the dark nebula known commonly as the "Pipe Nebula" (due to its shape) painted in the stars with interstellar dust. The dense cores (located around 450 light-years away) collapse to form new stars. This picture was taken in the Chilean Atacama Desert with 24 hour exposure and maps out a 10 degree by 10 degree field.