Picture of the Month

 

The region on the border of the constellations of Scopius and Ophiuchus rises almost over head on winter nights.  It contains one of the closest star formation regions to Earth,  500 light years distant.  The region shows a rich variety of blue, yellow (reflection), red (emission) and dark (dust) nebula.  The brightest star in this image is the yellow star of Antares, easily seen at the "head" of the constellation of Scorpius.