Imaged on nights of 7/5/2021, 7/7/2021, 7/8/2021, 7/9/2021, 7/10/2021,
Unguided
No Dithering
I must admit, I am really fond of targets that have a lot of color. Here is one of my favorites, one I do with every new hardware evolution. Much wider fields of view than this one are especially rewarding. Calls for a large mosaic.
Wikipedia:
Ophiuchus is a large constellation straddling the celestial equator. Its name is from the Greek (Ophioukhos, "serpent-bearer"), and it is commonly represented as a man grasping a snake. The serpent is represented by the constellation Serpens. Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. An old alternative name for the constellation was Serpentarius.
RS Ophiuchi is part of a class called recurrent novae, whose brightness increase at irregular intervals by hundreds of times in a period of just a few days. It is thought to be at the brink of becoming a type-1a supernova. Barnard's Star, one of the nearest stars to the Solar System (the only stars closer are the Alpha Centauri binary star system and Proxima Centauri), lies in Ophiuchus. It is located to the left of ? and just north of the V-shaped group of stars in an area that was once occupied by the now-obsolete constellation of Taurus Poniatovii (Poniatowski's Bull). In 2005, astronomers using data from the Green Bank Telescope discovered a superbubble so large that it extends beyond the plane of the galaxy. It is called the Ophiuchus Superbubble.
In April 2007, astronomers announced that the Swedish-built Odin satellite had made the first detection of clouds of molecular oxygen in space, following observations in the constellation Ophiuchus. The supernova of 1604 was first observed on 9 October 1604, near ? Ophiuchi. Johannes Kepler saw it first on 16 October and studied it so extensively that the supernova was subsequently called Kepler's Supernova. He published his findings in a book titled De stella nova in pede Serpentarii ("On the New Star in Ophiuchus's Foot"). Galileo used its brief appearance to counter the Aristotelian dogma that the heavens are changeless. In 2009 it was announced that GJ 1214, a star in Ophiuchus, undergoes repeated, cyclical dimming with a period of about 1.5 days consistent with the transit of a small orbiting planet. The planet's low density (about 40% that of Earth) suggests that the planet may have a substantial component of low-density gas—possibly hydrogen or steam. The proximity of this star to Earth (42 light years) makes it a tempting target for further observations.
My Collections:
Abell Planetary Nebulae (Complete)Planetary NebulaeGalaxiesSharpless 2 Objects
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