NOIARLab gets a clear shot of mysterious dark nebula in deep space

An amazing view from deep space was captured by Nicholas U Mayall 4-meter Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) in Arizona showing thick clouds of dust blocking the light coming from the stars.

These clouds of gas are forming a thick dark nebula — officially called LDN 1622. 

These nebulas are called dark given their thick stellar material which blocks light from travelling to adjacent stars and other stellar objects according to a statement from National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab).

The picture was of the nebula located at a distance of around 1,300 light years from Earth in the nearby Orion complex — a region where form and team up with young stars.

The statement also said: "LDN 1622 is a dark nebula, so called because these dense interstellar clouds of gas and dust blot out light from background objects, appearing as ink-dark clouds against a backdrop of stars."

"This enigmatic cosmic cloud lies 1300 light-years from Earth in the nearby Orion complex, a star-forming region thronging with young stars and other dark nebulae."

According to Nasa, LDN 1622 lies near the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, close in the sky to Barnard's Loop, a large cloud surrounding the rich complex of emission nebulae found in the Belt and Sword of Orion. 

With swept-back outlines, the obscuring dust of LDN 1622 is thought to lie at a similar distance, perhaps 1,500 light-years away.

"This swap highlights one of the benefits of ground-based astronomy: the ability to upgrade and replace instruments as new technologies become available," NOIRLab said.

This new image, which NOIRLab shared on June 21, was taken in 2018, before the 2022 Contreras fire that impacted the observatory.