APOD 4.7

The image below features a summer zodiacal constellation: Scorpius. This image was taken with a specialized camera using optical filters and later processed with a digital image processor. The high detail in the photograph was achieved with a series of long exposures taken in several colors but only one exposure in a specific hue of red that signifies hydrogen. Part of the plane of the Milky Way is visible across the left side of the image. The dark dust bands in the center of the image are known as Dark River. The Dark River connects the Pipe Nebula to the colorful region near Antares. The Dark River is located about 500 light years away and spans nearly 10 degrees across the sky in the constellation of Scorpius.