Just northeast of the Pleiades star cluster within the northern Milky Way, lies the dark region of the Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC), which at 430 light years is the nearest star-forming region to Earth.  Consisting of hundreds of solar masses of primordial hydrogen and helium gas, as well as heavier elements, this vast area of dense stardust obscures almost all light from behind.  As such it forms an alluring target for astrophotography, with the complex rift-like dark structure of the TMC set against the broad starry background of the Taurus constellation. 

Notwithstanding, perhaps because of the more popular objects that abound throughout its neighbour the Orion constellation, the TMC is somewhat neglected by astronomers; to be fair the TMC is also a more challenging imaging target than many of those found in Orion.  Early this year, for the first time I decided to image the dark nebula Barnard 22, an iconic section of the TMC formed by a complex mass of dark stardust that appears to hang within the vast surrounding starfield.

Approaching the new moon in late January I obtained almost 11 hours of LRGB subs, though sadly was unable to incorporate another 6-hours of 10-minute luminance exposures which proved to be too bright to use: note-to-self – check settings for new objects before embarking on long imaging programme! To achieve a balance between the large black smudge that is B 22 and the brilliance of the surrounding stars processing was tricky but the final outcome satisfying.  Also noteworthy in the image, just off centre is the small flame-shaped reflection nebula IC 2087, the light from which just manages to emerge from behind the otherwise dominant, though beguiling form of Barnard 22, which like night itself seems to casts a dark veil over the cosmos.