B59 — Pipe Nebula (Stem)
Dark Nebula in Ophiuchus
About
The mouthpiece end of the Pipe Nebula, a dark cloud in Ophiuchus about 600 to 700 light-years away. Its dust lane blocks the star clouds of the Milky Way lying beyond. B59, B65, B66 and B67 together form the Pipe Stem.
Imaging tips
- B59 is one piece of the Pipe Stem, which measures 300′ × 60′, so a wide lens or a mosaic is needed to take in more than this patch of it.
- One imager used a 200 mm lens at f/3.5 and 56 exposures of 2 minutes, 1 hour 52 minutes in total; that wide frame also held 14 other Barnard objects.
- Seen against the starry Milky Way band, the dust calls for broadband imaging rather than narrowband.
- For the wider Dark Horse region, one article says it shows only with no moon, no light pollution and low humidity.
- Peaks near 13° altitude from 50°N, so it stays very low there; May and June are the best months.
Facts
- Size
- 70′ × 35′
- Magnitude
- —
- Coordinates
- RA 17h 11.3m, Dec −27° 22′
- Framing, APS-C
- 350–580 mm
- Framing, full frame
- 530–880 mm
- Best months
- May, Jun
- Peak altitude
- 13° from 50°N, 28° from 35°N