This dramatic shot of the dark and shadowy Pipe Nebula has an Instagram-like feel to it. But astrophotographer Martin Campbell from France said on Flickr he has “no doubt that the pristine skies at 10,000 feet and the absence of light pollution makes it possible to produce images like this!” Campbell’s image is a two frame stack of two minute exposure time, stacked with darks and edited in Photoshop CS5. Images were taken in July 2012 in Pyrénées National Park in France. Campbell used a modified Canon 5D mkII DSLR and a Canon 85mm prime lens at F/4. Stunning!
The Pipe Nebula is part of the Ophiuchus dark cloud complex, and is also known as Barnard 59. It is located at a distance of about 600-700 light-years from Earth.
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At first glance, one would think it is an oil painting in canvas.
I feel very confuse. This picture is so amazing
Just a clarification on the Pipe Nebula=Barnard 59.
from wikipedia: “The nebula has two main parts: the Pipe Stem with an opacity of 6 which is composed of Barnard 59, 65, 66, and 67 (also known as LDN 1773)….and the Bowl of the Pipe with an opacity of 5 which is composed of Barnard 78 (also known as LDN 42)”
As mentioned in the Pipe Nebula entry [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_Nebula ] this area of dark nebulosity is also part of the larger Dark Horse Nebula: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Horse_%28astronomy%29