Infrared/visible-light crossfade view of the star cluster NGC 6520 and the dark cloud Barnard 86

This sequence compares views of the region around the dark cloud Barnard 86 in infrared and visible light. The infrared view comes from the VISTA survey telescope (eso1242) and the visible light view is a new image from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. In the infrared the cloud is more transparent and less prominent and the bright star cluster NGC 6520 becomes almost invisible.