The final image is a result of 160 light frames, shot with Nikon D90 and AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm F1.8 G on a tripod, at 8 seconds, f/2.2 and ISO 3200, from a Bortle Class 3 sky.

It's my first time shooting this target and although I had trouble processing it, the result pleases me. I love the fact that all the deep space objects of the region are part of my image (such as M4, M80, IC 4601, IC 4603, IC 4604, IC 4605 and IC 4592).

I would really like to read your comments.

Thanks for checking!

Rho Ophiuchi (ρ Oph) is a multiple star system located at an approximate distance of 360 light years from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus. The main pair in the system, Rho Ophiuchi AB, has a combined apparent magnitude of 4.63 and, while it is visible to the naked eye, it is not among the 20 brightest points of light in Ophiuchus. The Rho Ophiuchi system is surrounded by a large region of nebulosity known as the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.

The nebula is one of the nearest star-forming regions to the Sun.

The Rho Ophiuchi star system consists of at least five components. The main pair, Rho Ophiuchi AB, is a visual double composed of two class B2 stars, a subgiant and a giant.

Rho Ophiuchi C and DE are separated by 17,000 and 19,000 astronomical units – or 2.5 and 2.82 arc minutes – from the AB pair. The stars also lie farther away, at distances of about 408 and 440 light years from Earth.

Rho Ophiuchi is embedded in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, a large nebula of dust and gas that makes the star system appear 1.45 magnitudes dimmer than it really is. Without the interstellar extinction, Rho Ophiuchi would shine at magnitude 3.18.

The nebula lies a degree south of Rho Ophiuchi and stretches across an area of 4.5 by 6.5 degrees of the sky. It is composed of emission, reflection and dark nebulae.

The brightest parts of the cloud complex include the nebulae IC 4604, IC 4603 and IC 4605. IC 4604, also known as the Rho Ophiuchi Nebula, is a reflection nebula illuminated by Rho Ophiuchi itself. The blue reflection nebula IC 4603, which surrounds the 8th magnitude blue giant or subgiant star HD 147889, lies just south of Rho Ophiuchi. IC 4605, a reflection nebula around 22 Scorpii, appears to the southeast of Rho Ophiuchi, closer to Antares in the constellation Scorpius.

In addition to the Rho Ophiuchi nebula, there are several bright deep sky objects appearing in the vicinity of the star. The globular cluster Messier 80 stretches across 10’ of the sky and has a spatial diameter of 95 light years.It lies west of Rho Ophiuchi, about halfway between the brighter Antares and Acrab in Scorpius.

Messier 4, another globular cluster, lies south of Rho Ophiuchi, about a degree and a half west of Antares.

The reflection nebula IC 4601 appears north and a little west of Rho Ophiuchi. It lies next to the larger reflection nebula IC 4592, named the Blue Horsehead Nebula. The Blue Horsehead Nebula is illuminated by the hot blue stars of the Nu Scorpii system, known by the traditional name Jabbah.