globule

A small, almost spherical cloud of dark opaque gas and dust which shows up against a brighter background such as star clouds or a luminous nebula. It is thought that globules represent an early stage in the star formation process. The name of the Dutch-American astronomer, Bart Bok (1906-83), is associated with small globules, known as Bok globules, which may be only a few thousand astronomical units across.