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The central area of this image is mostly covered by the dark nebula LDN 673, but also contains LDN 676 and LDN 677, which are smaller structures above it. This is a large-area object: the whole field of view measures 2.3° × 1.6°. A dark nebula is a type of interstellar cloud that is so dense that it obscures the visible wavelengths of light from objects behind it, in this case the numerous background stars of the Milky Way. LDN stands for Lynds' Dark Nebula Catalogue, published in 1962.
Two small parts of the nebula reflect starlight: GN 19.18.0, a reflection nebula located on the right (western) edge of the largest dark lane just below the star that is the source of the light, and a nebula around V1352 Aql, a variable T Tauri star half a degree to the south, in a slightly brighter strip between two dark lanes. Immediately adjacent to V1352 Aql is the compact Herbig-Haro object HH32, an indication of active star formation in the area.
There is also a fast-moving white dwarf star, GD 218, in the area between the two reflection nebulae.
The brightest star in this image is 31 Aquilae, a 5th magnitude double star, near the upper left corner. The bright bluish stars to the right are ω1 and ω2 Aquilae, of magnitudes 5.2 and 6.0, respectively.
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