Binoculars are an ideal travel companion: right now, on a vacation destination, this little device shows what it’s capable of, and not just when observing nature on Earth. Take your binoculars out to the sea or the mountains and escape from the hotel lights, because a gorgeous summer is now looming over the Milky Way. A short walk is often enough, with the handy optic slung over the shoulder.
Pay attention to the dark interstellar clouds, which make a striking contrast to the bright parts of countless stars, especially in the southern part of the Milky Way – an incomparable sight in binoculars. The further north we look, the contrast diminishes, but in the constellation of the Eagle (Latin: Aquila), about 1.3 degrees northwest of the bright star 2.7 mag Gamma Aquila (γ Mind), a small surprise awaits us: one pane of darkness. Cloud cataloged as Barnard 142/143 (see ‘Darkness E in Eagle’).
© Frank Stefani (details)
Dark E in Eagle | In the center of the Milky Way, there are regions where stars appear to be absent: dark clouds of cold interstellar matter obscure the starlight behind them. These include neighboring B 142/143 clouds, which make up “Barnard’s E”. Photographed by Frank Stefani with a Canon 7D Mk I and a Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC lens on an iOptron CEM 26EC integrated equatorial mount. North to top left east.
Even if a glimmer of the surrounding Milky Way is barely visible here, clouds of cool gas and dust emanate from the conspicuous absence of stars in the region. Die sudwestliche der beiden Teilwolken, B 142, ist diffuser als die nordöstlich davon gelegene Wolke B 143. Schaut man aber eine Weile hin, dann kommt dank der niedrigen Vergrößerung des Fernglases der Eindruck auf, dort stehe schräg gekippt ein fett ged rucksacks, dunkles »E In the sky. Its discoverer, American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard (1857-1923), was already associated with this number.
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