Pipe Dark Nebula

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The Pipe is maybe the most apparent and large dark nebula in the Milky Way, not far from the galactic center. The naked eye can see easily the dark spot in the sky, expecially if at zenith, such as the experience in Namibia we've made in 2011. Also the Snake dark nebula is present in the upper part of the image.
Technical data
Optics Sigma 180 mm f/3.5
Focal Length 180 mm
Focal Ratio f/4
Exposure Time 1h (single exp of 10 min)
CCD Canon EOS 5D with Baader filter
Sensitivity 800 ISO
Location Tivoli Farm (Namibia) at 1350 m height
Date
 28 August 2011
Mount Losmandy G11
Tracking none
Temperature and humidity T= +14°C, RH=30%
Sky brightness at zenith (with SQM-L) 21.70 mag/arcsec^2 (MW at zenith)
Notes This image is a collaborative effort of the Namibia 2011 expedition. Processing: Lorenzo Comolli. Images by: Lorenzo Comolli, Luigi Fontana, Giosuè Ghioldi, Emmanuele Sordini. Thanks to Alessandro Gambaro for loaning us the lens.

HTML Editing and Publishing by Lorenzo Comolli. Email me at comolli@libero.it.
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