The Snake Nebula (also known as Barnard 72) is a dark nebula in the Ophiuchus constellation. It is a small but readily apparent S-shaped dust lane that snakes out in front of the Milky Way star clouds from the north-north-west edge of the bowl of the Pipe Nebula. Its thickness runs between 2′ and 3′ and runs around 6′ in the north-west / south-east orientation. A good view in a 4" to 6" telescope requires clear dark skies.

It is part of the much larger Dark Horse Nebula.

To the right side of the Snake Nebula is found Barnard 68. Below it are found Barnard 69, Barnard 70, and Barnard 74. (Wikipedia)

Taken West of Columbia, MO on a hot humid July night. The ambient temperature dropped to only 78 degrees. A light breeze made it a little more comfortable. Seeing was average.

Details:

Date: July 2, 2011
Camera: SBIG ST8300M with 5 position Filter Wheel
Expsoures: 6 x 8 mins. Lum: 2 X 6 Mins RGB
Telescope: William Optics FLT110 with W/O Reducer/Flattener IV system at f5.6
Mount: Celestron CGE guided with PHD Guide
Processing: CCDStack, PhotoShop CS3