| "The sky is the ultimate art gallery just above us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 82) |
Astrophotography by Jason Jennings |
| << Back to Gallery | |
|---|---|
| Nebulae :: Rho Ophiuchus Nebulae Complex | |
|
|
|
| Resolutions Available: 931x1226 : 1863x2452 : 3726x4905 | |
| Object | Rho Ophiuchus Nebulae Complex |
| Comment |
The Rho Ophiuchus Nebulae Complex is located in the constellation of Ophiuchus, and is perhaps one of the most colourful and intriguing areas of the night sky. It features, the red giant Antares, the Ophiuchi triple star surrounded in reflection nebulae (IC4604). In addition, present is a globular cluster (M4) with a dense star core accompanied by a the small cluster (NGC6144) and various segments of dark nebulae. The red-supergiant star Antares dominates the image and is surrounded by unusual yellow reflection nebulosity. Antares is approximately 700 light years away and is 10,000 times more luminous than our Sun. The sensational blue IC 4604 reflection nebula surrounding the Rho Ophiuchi triple star is intriguing feature of this complex. It is a result of interstellar dust that is illuminated by nearby stars. The red areas of this image are red emission nebulae that are created by hydrogen gas emitting light. The dark areas are not star void, but are dark nebula where thick dust clouds are obscuring background stars. This image is an eight panel mosaic, LRGB composite. APOD - The Dark River to Antares, 8th July 2009. David Malin Awards 2010 - Winner Deep Sky Category and Overall Competition Winner. |
| Optics | Takahashi FSQ-106ED F/5 (530mm FL) |
| Camera | SBIG STL-11000M - 1x1 bin (image scale: 3.5 arcsec/pix) |
| Mount | Losmandy Titan |
| Exposure | Total exposure time: 16 hours (2 hours per panel) |
| Date |
Data acquired over multiple nights 29/04/2009 22/05/2009 19,22/06/2009 |