Streaming Dark Nebulas near B44

Dark dust lit by the bright yellow star Antares highlight this photogenic starscape of the southern sky. A wider angle image shows the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy connected to Antares by streams of dust knows as the Dark River . At the head of the Dark River the dust appears in dense knots. One of the densest knots is B44 , pictured near the bottom of the above image. Off to the left of the above image lies Antares, a star so bright that the pictured dust reflects its light, giving it a distinct yellow hue. Light from the blue star on the image left creates a surrounding blue reflection nebula named IC 4605 . B44 and IC 4605 lies about 500 light years distant toward the constellation of the Scorpion .