Constellation Ophiuchus - Constellation of Ophiuchus - The constellation Ophiuchus separates the constellation of the...

Constellation Ophiuchus - Constellation of Ophiuchus - The constellation Ophiuchus separates the constellation of the Snake into two parts. The constellation of Ophiuchus is located between Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda, two parts of the constellation of Serpens. The southern part of Ophiuchus contains one of the darkest and most visually distinctive dark clouds of the Miky Way. It is popularly known as the Dark Horse nebula - - the body of the horse runs north - south and its legs point towards the bright star Antares. The hind quarters of the horse make up the (smoker's) Pipe nebula, with the stem pointing to Antares. The dust of forelegs reaches a long way in the direction of Antares, where it is illuminated by stars associated with Rho Ophiuchi to make a distinctive reflection nebula. The dusty clouds of the Dark Horse nebula hide the northern part of the Milky Way's central bulge. The southern part (in Sagittarius) is relatively unobscured. Without this dust the extent of the Milky Way's bulge would be much more apparent to the unaided eye and without it our understanding of the nature of our galaxy as a flattened disk might have come sooner