Barnard 142 and Barnard 143 are a pair of dark nebulae in Aquila in a rich summer Milky Way star field. B142 is in the center of the frame, and B143 lies below and to the right of it. Together, this pair is known as the E nebula, or Barnard's E.

The distance to Barnard 142 is estimated to be 2,000 light-years. Its apparent size of 30 x 30 arcminutes corresponds to a true size of 17 x 17 light-years in space.

Barnard 143 has an apparent size of 30 x 15 arcminutes which corresponds to a true size of 17 x 8.5 light-years in space.

B142 and B143 are located 3 degrees northwest of Altair, one of the stars in the Summer Triangle, and 1.5 degrees west-northwest from Tarazed (Gamma Aquilae), which is the bright golden star at lower left in this image.

B142 and B143 were cataloged by E. E. Barnard in 1919.

North is to the top in the above image.

Barnard 142, Barnard 143 Catalogs: B142, B143 Common Names: E Nebula Barnard's E Nebula Object Type: Dark Nebulae Size: B142: 30' x 30' B143: 30' x 15' Constellation: Aquila Image Field Centered At: RA: 19h 41m 13s Dec: +11° 01' 03"