Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Scutum (Sct)  ·  Contains:  8 Aql  ·  B104  ·  B106  ·  B107  ·  B110  ·  B111  ·  B113  ·  LBN 91  ·  LDN 524  ·  LDN 527  ·  LDN 528  ·  LDN 529  ·  LDN 530  ·  LDN 532  ·  LDN 547  ·  LDN 548  ·  NGC 6682  ·  Sh2-65  ·  The star 8 Aql  ·  The star β Sct  ·  bet Sct
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Barnard 104 Region, Gary Imm
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Barnard 104 Region

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Barnard 104 Region, Gary Imm
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Barnard 104 Region

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Description

This image captures a number of objects including the Barnard 104 dark nebula, seen lower left of center.  The FOV is centered in the constellation of Scutum at a declination of -4 degrees.

Not much has been written about the unusual Barnard 104 object. It is commonly called the Fishhook Nebula, the Checkmark Nebula, and the "L" Nebula.  This nebula, about 3 light years across,  is considered to be a star-forming Bok Globule, which is the smallest example of a dark nebula. 

The reddish object above Barnard 104 is the Sh2-65 emission nebula.

In the upper right of the image, but not identified in the mouseover, is the faint planetary nebula Abell 48.  You can find it using the mouseover coordinate system.  The PN is at 18:43:46 RA and -03:13:17 Dec.  It is seen in more detail in my EdgeHD11 narrowband image here.

To the right of Barnard 104 is the Tr 35 open star cluster, discovered by Dr. Robert Trumpler (1886-1956).  This object is at 18:43:00 RA and  -04:14:00 Dec.  Dr. Trumpler wrote an excellent 1930 paper in which he created a cluster classification system which is still in use today.  In addition, the paper identified 37 previously unrecognized star clusters.  I love it that, in his paper, he named these new clusters An1 through An37.   The abbreviation "An" stand for "Anonymous Clusters".  Most discoverers would have jumped at the chance to name these new objects after themselves.  In time, the abbreviation evolved from "An" to "Tr", standing for Trumpler of course.   Like most astronomers, Dr. Trumpler lived an interesting but tough life and his short biography here is a good read.

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