The Pipe Nebula

Dark dust, from previous generations of stars, obscures our view of the star-dense regions near the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The pipe is composed of dark clouds designated Barnard 59, 65, 66, 67, and 78, and is located in the summer constellation Ophiuchus. Both rich star fields and glowing red clouds of hydrogen form the texture of the background. The field of view is large—more than 16 full moons could fit across the image.