Bok globule
/bɒk ˈɡlɒbjuːl/Astronomy
noun
Each of many small interstellar clouds of gas and dust which appear as dark, roughly circular patches when viewed against a bright background (e.g. of stars or ionized gas), and which are associated with star formation.
Origin
1960s; earliest use found in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. From the name of Bart Jan Bok, Dutch-born U.S. astronomer who studied these globules + globule.