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Credit & Copyright: Stefan Lenz
Explanation:
If Scorpius looked this good to the unaided eye, humans might remember it better.
Scorpius
more typically appears as a few bright stars in a well-known but rarely pointed out
zodiacal
constellation.
To get a spectacular image like this, though, one needs a good
camera,
a dark sky, and some sophisticated
image processing.
The resulting digitally-enhanced image shows many
breathtaking features.
Diagonal across the image right is part of the
plane of our
Milky Way Galaxy.
Visible there are vast clouds of bright stars and long filaments
of dark and intricate dust.
Rising vertically on the image left are
dark dust bands known as the
Dark River.
Several of the
bright stars on the left are part of
Scorpius' head and claws,
and include the bright star
Antares.
Numerous red
emission nebulas,
blue reflection nebulas,
and dark filaments became visible as the deep 17-hour expo image
developed.
Scorpius
appears prominently in southern skies after sunset during the middle of the year.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Scorpius
Publications with words: Scorpius
See also: