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Antares Region

Antares is a massive, red super-giant star, the brightest in the constellation of Scorpio and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It's located approximately 550 light-years from Earth and is known for its reddish hue, which has earned it the nickname "the heart of the scorpion".

Visually close to it is a globular cluster by the name of Messier 4, it's true distance is estimated to be around 6000 light years. The second, smaller cluster visible through the dust in the 1 o'clock position from Antares is NGC 6144 and that one is about 33000 light years away. The entire region of the sky is rich in interstellar dust, some of which is illuminated by Antares.

I took 45 sixty second exposures along with the obligatory dark and flat frames, and processed everything in Starry Landscape Stacker, Photoshop and Lightroom.

A vintage Nikkor 300mm f4.5

Sony A 6400 camera

IOptron Star Tracker Pro

Bulb timer

 

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Uploaded on June 23, 2025
Taken on June 22, 2025