Star Tarazed and Dark Nebula "E" Complex in Aquila

Star Tarazed and Dark Nebula "E" Complex in Aquila

Tarazed (Gamma Aquilae) is an orange star, slightly smaller than our Sun, located on the far left. At center is the dark nebula "E"—a complex of opaque nebulae cataloged, from north to south, LDN 700, LDN 964 with a dense core made up of [LM99] L694-2, and LDN 688. The "E" or "Barnard's E" Nebula (officially designated as Barnard 142 and 143) is dominated by a pair of dark nebulae in the Aquila constellation. It is a well-defined dark area of the Milky Way that also features countless stars of all magnitudes, obtaining its name from its resemblance to the letter E in the Latin alphabet. Its size is about that of the full Moon, or roughly 0.5 degrees, and its distance from Earth is estimated at 2,000 light years.

This image was created by composing data obtained from a backyard suburban sky using 250mm f/2.2 telephoto lenses.

Image Credit: Giuseppe Donatiello

Text Credit: Giuseppe Donatiello, Wikipedia
Capture Location: Oria, Apulia, Italy
Release Date: Aug. 16, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #NebulaEComplex #Barnard142 #Barnard143 #Tarazed #GammaAquilae #Aquila #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #CitizenScience #Astrophotographer #GiuseppeDonatiello #Oria #Apulia #Italy #Italia #STEM #Education