Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Scorpius (Sco)  ·  Contains:  IC 4603  ·  IC 4604  ·  IC 4605  ·  M 4  ·  NGC 6121  ·  Part of the constellation Scorpius (Sco)  ·  The star 22Sco  ·  The star Al Niyat (σSco)  ·  The star Antares (αSco)  ·  The star οSco  ·  The star ρOph  ·  The star τSco  ·  rho Oph Nebula
Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex, Astro with Eric
Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex
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Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex

Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex, Astro with Eric
Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex
Powered byPixInsight

Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex

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Description

Still working hard at my PI workflow, but this is by far one of my favorite and most beautiful targets in the Summer Southern sky. I can't get this in my neighborhood, houses block it, but fortunately was able to image this at my RV campground under Bortle 4 skies. I set the lens to f/4.

Featuring the bright, red supergiant star Antares, the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is one of the most vibrant and colorful nebulas in space and the closest star-forming region to the solar system. Located approximately 460 light-years away from Earth, the interstellar clouds of gas and dust that make up Rho Ophiuchi contain emission nebulas that are rich with red, glowing hydrogen gas and blue reflection nebulas that reflect starlight from their surroundings. The dark-brown regions in the cloud complex consist of interstellar dust grains that prevent any light from passing through. The distant globular star cluster Messier 4, or M4, is visible to the right of Antares, which is one of the brighter stars in the night sky. However, M4 lies far beyond the colorful cloud complex, at a distance of some 7,000 light-years from Earth.

(Courtesy of Space.com)

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Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex, Astro with Eric

In these public groups

The OSC Club (One Shot Camera)