The Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex. Faux Canvas Print

The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. The Rho Ophiuchi cloud is found rising above the plane of the Milky Way in the night sky, bordering the constellations Ophiuchus and Scorpius. It's one of the nearest star-forming regions to Earth, allowing us to resolve much more detail than in more distant similar regions, like the Orion nebula. The amazing variety of colors seen in this image represents different wavelengths of infrared light. The bright white nebula in the center of the image is glowing due to heating from nearby stars, resulting in what is called an emission nebula. The same is true for most of the multi-hued gas prevalent throughout the entire image, including the bluish, bow-shaped feature near the bottom right. The bright red area in the bottom right is light from the star in the center, Sigma Scorpii, that is reflected off of the dust surrounding it, creating a reflection nebula. The much darker areas scattered throughout the image are pockets of cool, dense gas that block out