| "The sky is the ultimate art gallery just above us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 82) |
Astrophotography by Jason Jennings |
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| Nebulae :: RCW119 | |
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| Resolutions Available: 941x942 : 1710x1712 : 2850x2853 | |
| Object | RCW119 |
| Comment |
Located in the constellation Scorpius is the rich HII region that is dominated by the open star cluster NGC 6281 seen at center of the presented image. The cluster has a mass of around 214 solar masses consisting of 55 stars with the brightest star being 9th magnitude. Overall, its integrated visual magnitude of 5.4 makes it easily observable with binoculars or small telescopes. The region contains various HII nebulae with the most prominent being RCW 119 (aka Sh 2-2, Gum 57) which forms a wind swept bubble caused by the eclipsing binary HD 153919. There are two other distinct nebula in the scene towards the right beyond the bubble. RCW 120 (aka Sh 2-3, Gum 58) appears as a 'S' shaped nebula with a dark nebula rift passing through it. Below this is the small, yet interesting planetary nebula known as the Bug Nebula due to its features (aka NGC 6302, Sh 2-6, Gum 60, RCW 124). The star cluster NGC 6281 resides 1,600 light years away, with most of the HII nebulosity much further in distance such as RCW 120 at 4,300 light years. This image is a HaRGB composite |
| Optics | Takahashi FSQ-106ED F/5 (530mm FL) |
| Camera | Apogee Alta U16M - 1x1 bin (image scale: 3.5 arcsec/pix) |
| Mount | Software Bisque Paramount ME |
| Exposure | Total exposure time: 9.5 hours |
| Date | September 2011 |