![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Barnard_68.jpg/640px-Barnard_68.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Barnard 68
Dark absorption nebula / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Barnard 68?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Barnard 68 is a molecular cloud, dark absorption nebula or Bok globule, towards the southern constellation Ophiuchus and well within the Milky Way galaxy at a distance of about 125 parsecs (407 lightyears).[2] It is both close and dense enough that stars behind it cannot be seen from Earth. American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard added this nebula to his catalog of dark nebulae in 1919. His catalog was published in 1927, at which stage it included some 350 objects. Because of its opacity, its interior is extremely cold, its temperature being about 16 K (−257 °C/-431 °F). Its mass is about twice that of the Sun and it measures about half a light-year across.[3]
Molecular cloud | |
---|---|
Bok globule | |
dark nebula | |
![]() Image of Barnard 68 in visible and near-infrared light. This image is sometimes mistakenly attributed to the Boötes Void. | |
Observation data: J2000.0[1] epoch | |
Right ascension | 17h 22m 38.2s[1] |
Declination | −23° 49′ 34″[1] |
Distance | 125[2] pc |
Constellation | Ophiuchus[3] |
Physical characteristics | |
Radius | 0.25[3] ly |
Designations | Barnard 68, LDN 57 |
See also: Lists of nebulae |