Barnard 92

Dark Nebula Barnard 92, in the Sagittarius star cloud M24 in Sagittarius

Black Hole

Right Ascension 18 : 16.9 (h:m)

Declination -18 : 04 (deg:m)

Distance 10 (kly)

Apparent Dimension 15 x 9 (arc min)

Discovered by Barnard in 1913.

Right Ascension	18 : 16.9 (h:m)
Declination	-18 : 04 (deg:m)
Distance	10 (kly)
Apparent Dimension	15 x 9 (arc min)

Barnard 92 is an interstellar dust cloud, contrasting nicely against the bright background of the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, M24, of which it obscures parts. This dark spot has been nicknamed the Black Hole, long before this term was used to describe strongly gravitating objects - B92 is certainly not a Black Hole in the relativistic sense, but a dark nebula.

It is one of the first dark nebulae known, discovered in 1913 by E.E. Barnard (Barnard 1913).

Martin Germano obtained this beautiful photograph of the dark nebula Barnard 92 in the northern portion of star cloud M24. The image was taken with a 14.5" f/5 Newtonian, exxposed 70 minutes on hypered Tech Pan 2415 film in 1999.

This is a very dark and 'detailed' Dark Nebula (6 E G) in Sagittarius. This is the companion dark nebula located just to the west of B 93 on the 'small Sagittarius Star Cloud' M24.

More images by Martin Germano

References

Barnard, E.E., 1913. Dark Regions in the Sky Suggesting an Obscuration of Light. Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 38, p. 496-501. Here also plates XIX and XXb.
Barnard, E.E., 1919. On the Dark Markings of the Sky - with a Catalogue of 181 Such Objects. Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 49, p. 1-23. (First edition of Barnard's catalogue of dark nebulae)

Barnard 92 and 93 field - Barnard 93 dark nebula

More images of M24

Amateur images of M24

Hartmut Frommert
Christine Kronberg
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Last Modification: June 11, 2002