Here are `true colour' infrared images constructed from IRAS archive data. The different colors correspond to different infrared wavelengths: the 12 micrometer radiation is shown in blue, 60 micrometer in green, and 100 micrometer in red. The images are especially well suited to reveal the large-scale structure of molecular clouds (red and green colors), while a few very infrared-bright stars show up as blue dots.
The first images shows a wide field view (some 90 x 120 square-degrees) of the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association in galactic coordinates. The three parts of the association, Upper Scorpius (US), Upper Centaurus Lupus (UCL), and Lower Centaurus Crux (LCC) are indicated. The bright horizontal band slightly below the midle of the image is the galactic plane.
The next image shows the Upper Scorpius association. The asterisks mark the positions of the massive stars which belong to the association. The bright region slightly left of the center is the rho Ophiuchus star forming region.
More information about the IRAS project and additional images can be found at the Web pages of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)