At an estimated distance of about 140 parsecs, or 460 light years, it is one of the closest star-forming regions to the Solar System.

The large extensions of the complex are also called Dark River clouds[8] (or Rho Ophiuchi Streamers) and are identified as Barnard 44 and 45.

Some of the structures within the complex appear to be the result of a shock front passing through the clouds from the direction of the neighboring Sco OB2 association.

[better source needed][11] One of the older objects at the edge of the primary star-forming region was found to be a circumstellar disk seen nearly edge-on.

[1][7] Since the field of view of the photo is very small, at 6.4 arc-minutes, it displays just a tiny region of what appears in most other photographs of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.