This is one of the most beautiful wide field areas of the sky. Rho Ophiuchi is the namesake of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. It is a nebula of gas and dust in both the constellations of Ophiuchus and Scorpio. Rho Ophiuchi is the blue nebula at the right of the image, which has a triple star system lighting up the blue reflection nebula. The entire cloud system is one of the easiest star forming regions to observe, as it is one of the nearest, and it is visible from both hemispheres. At the far left is the bright star Antares, which is actually the brightest star in Scorpio. Below Antares is M4, a globular cluster in Scorpio. The smaller less bright globular cluster near Antares is NGC 6144. The white reflection nebula to the left of the Rho Ophiuchi nebula is IC 4603. The blue reflection nebula above IC 4603 is IC 4605. With all of the nebulae, clusters and colors, this is a magnificent area of the Milky Way galaxy.

Paducah Skies Observatory is a private observatory SW of Paducah, TX. It sits on 45 acres of native Texas grasslands and mesquite trees. The skies are 21.99 on the light pollution scale (almost Bortle 1).