The Snake Nebula in Ophiuchus
Credit and Copyright:
B. Wallis and R. Provin
What slithers there? The dark winding lanes visible in part of the
constellation
Ophiuchus belong to the Snake Nebula.
The Snake Nebula is a series of
dark absorption clouds
made up of
Interstellar dust.
Interstellar dust grains - composed
predominantly of carbon - absorb visible starlight
and reradiate much of it in the
infrared.
This absorption causes stars behind the clouds to be obscured
from view, hence the appearance of starless voids on the sky.