Barnard's E

 An unplanned imaging session ...

Saturday, August 15, 2026, was supposed to be an outreach night at Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve for Stargazing in Hamburg. The event was cancelled on Friday because of logistical issues and conflicting forecasts. By Saturday afternoon, of course, the forecast had turned clear. Transparency was still poor because of wildfire smoke, and an 11% waxing crescent Moon would set around 9:30 PM, so I quickly searched my target lists for a broadband object to image. I settled on the dark nebulae B142 and B143, which together form Barnard’s E Nebula. I usually spend much more time planning an imaging session with tools like Telescopius, AstroBin, and NINA’s Framing Wizard. This time, the session was improvised. After collecting the data and processing the image, I was disappointed with the framing and thought the image was a lost cause. Then I posted it on our astronomy club’s forum, and several people whose opinions I trust talked me “off the cliff.” I still think the image would be stronger if the “E” were more centered, even if that meant giving up B334, B336, and B337 on the right side. But I also like the contrast between the star colors and the dark nebulae, and the sheer number of stars in the image is breathtaking. I hope you enjoy it too.

Image 1: Barnard’s E Nebula

An image of Barnard's E captured from my backyard on August 15, 2026 with my wide-field deep-sky imaging rig.

Before getting into the technical details, here is a quick overview of what Barnard’s E is and why this region is so striking in a wide-field image.

What is it?

Object type: Dark nebula — Barnard’s E Nebula is the combination of two dark nebulae, B142 and B143. Together, their shape resembles the letter E. Dark nebulae are dense interstellar clouds, often molecular clouds, that block visible light from stars and other background sources.

Location in sky: Barnard’s E is in the constellation Aquila, near the bright star Altair. It is one of many deep-sky gems within the Summer Triangle asterism and is best placed for evening viewing from June through October. See the finder chart in Image 2.

Distance / size / scale: Estimated distance is about 2,000 light-years from Earth. Barnard’s E spans roughly 30 arcminutes in apparent size, about the apparent diameter of the Full Moon.

Visual features: Inky black clouds superimposed on top of a rich field of stars in the heart of the Milky Way.

Why it matters: Dark nebulae are not empty patches in the sky; they are cold, dense clouds of gas and dust. In their central regions, gravity can pull material together tightly enough for new stars to begin forming.

Image 2: Finder chart for Barnard’s E Nebula

Finder Chart for the image of Barnard's E. The red rectangle indicates the field of view of the image.

Prominent Objects in the Field

Object 1: Barnard’s E Nebula is composed of two dark nebulae, B142 and B143. The “E” is located on the left side of the image. E. E. Barnard’s catalogue of dark nebulae was published in 1919.

Object 2: On the right side of the image, three faint dark nebulae are loosely connected. From top right to bottom right, they are B337, B336, and B334.

Additional details: There are several Lynds’ Dark Nebulae (LDN) on both sides of the image. Lynds’ Catalogue of Dark Nebulae was published in 1962 by Beverly Lynds.

 Image 3: Annotated image of Barnard’s E Nebula

An annotated version of the image of Barnard's E.

Imaging Details

·       Capture dates: August 15, 2026.

• Location: Eden, NY
• Target: Barnard’s E Nebula
• Total integration: 4.73 hours total
• Exposure breakdown:
• 8/15/2026: 284 subs at 60 sec each

·       Gain = 100, Offset = 50, and Sensor Temp = -10° C

• Filters / channels: N/A
• Moon / sky conditions:

o   8/15/2026: Moon 11% waxing crescent, transparency = poor, and seeing = fair/good.

Equipment Used

• Telescope / lens: Askar FRA400
• Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
• Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
• Filters: N/A
• Guiding: ZWO 30 mm Mini Guide Scope / ZWO ASI290MM
• Control / acquisition software: N.I.N.A & PHD2
• Other accessories: PrimaLuceLab Sesto Senso 3 & SvBony 241 Pro

Processing Details

• Calibration frames: 50 Darks, 50 Flats, & 50 Dark Flats
• Calibration and integration: All pre-processing was performed in PixInsight
• Background correction: GraXpert
• Color Calibration: SPCC
• Deconvolution: BlurXTerminator
• Stretching: Multiscale Adaptive Stretch
• Noise reduction: NoiseXTerminator
• Contrast and Saturation: Curves Transformation
• Star processing: Increased star saturation with Curves Transformation. Stars were not removed; a mask was used to protect the background.
• Final cleanup: Applied contrast adjustments with Curves Transformation

Conclusion

Sometimes images don’t turn out the way you expected. Even so, the result can still be pleasing and can spark a sense of beauty and wonder about the cosmos. The contrast between the colorful stars and the inky black wisps of dark nebulosity makes this image successful in my eyes. I am still struck by the sheer number of stars in the frame: all of those suns, each likely surrounded by at least one planet, and possibly more.