Barnard 228: The Dark Wolf Nebula in Lupus

These dark markings on the sky can just be found in silhouette against a rich, luminous background of stars. Seen toward the southern constellation of Lupus the Wolf, the dusty, obscuring Cosmic Dust clouds are part of the Lupus Molecular Cloud some 500 light-years distant.

Packs of low mass stars are forming within them, from collapsing cores only visible at long Infrared Astronomy wavelengths. Still, colorful stars in Lupus add to this pretty galactic skyscape. It spans about 8 degrees, not far from the central Milky Way.