Zooming in on the dark nebula Barnard 59

This video sequence starts with a broad panorama of the spectacular region in the direction of the centre of the Milky Way. We then close in on a curious dark feature called the Pipe Nebula. Here dense clouds of interstellar dust are silhouetted against the rich star clouds in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer), close to the more familiar constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion). We finally focus on one end of the pipe, a strange dark feature called Barnard 59. It is shown in a very detailed new image from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory.