Mu Serpentis (μ Serpentis) is a blue giant star in the head of constellation Serpens (Serpens Caput) located about 160 light years away that shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.54.
Around this star there is a dense part of the Great Rift, a series of overlapping, molecular dust clouds that are located between the Solar System and the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Great Rift around Mu Serpentis
This is a feature little known by most and rarely imaged, yet very nice and with a rich texture. I imagined it quite a while ago with my usual setup (APO140 ota), with a classic LRGB composition collecting about 10 hours of light. Unfortunately I had to discharge several red subframes so the exposure in that channel is shorter than planned, however it seems it didn't effect much the final result..
I hope you will enjoy this vista. As usual the view at full resolution is highly recommended..
Clear skies
Marco