The Snake Nebula, also known as Barnard 72, is an S-shaped dust lane, readily seen because it blocks light from the Milky Way. Nearby are more dark nebulae, Barnard 69, 70, and 74.

Also appeared at http://www.astronomy.com/photos/picture-of-day  June 25, 2015

Technical Information       

Date:              June, 2015
Location:        Green Valley, Arizona
Telescope:      Takahashi FSQ-106EDX
Camera:         SBIG STT-8300M
Filters:            Astrodon Gen 2
Mount:            AstroPhysics 1200
Exposure:        LRGB = 390:60:60:60 min., all unbinned
Software:         Acquisition: Maxim DL 5, TheSkyX, Pinpoint, CCD Commander
                        Processing: CCDStack, PhotoShop CS6 with various plugins