View allAll Photos Tagged RhoOphiuchi
Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex - Gérgal - June 2021
Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex is an amazing collection of dark gas and dust illuminated by blue star forming regions and the bright yellow star of Antares. To the right of Antares is M4, a globular cluster of stars. The distance from Earth is approximately 460 light-years making it one of the closest star forming regions to our Solar System.
This is a wide angle view of the sky using a lens of only 150mm. It is relatively low in the sky at a maximum elevation of 30 degrees above the horizon from my location in Southern Spain.
Camera: Nikon D850 (Stock) DX Crop
Telescope: Tamron 150mm - 600mm telephoto at 150mm f/8
Mount: iOptron SmartEQ Pro
Guide camera: ZWO ASI120MM-S
Guide telescope: ZWO 30mm f/4 focal length 120mm
Location: Gérgal, Almeria, Spain.
Elevation: 720 mtrs above sea level
Bortle : 4
Imaging period: 9 sessions between the 1st and 13 of June 2021
Total integration: 27.75 hours
721 x 90s ISO 3200
78 x 180s ISO 3200
350 x 60s ISO 16000
Capture Software: N.I.N.A
Guiding Software: PHD2
Processed with: PixInsight and Adobe Lightroom Classic.
#astrophotography #rhoophiuchi #IC4603 #antares #nikon #tamron
Stack of 3 images and 1 dark
Stacked and processed in photoshop
Canon 7D
OM Zuiko 50mm f1.8 @ f4
Tracked on a Vixen Polarie
Such a colourful part of the night sky!
Composition of 7x600 second exposures, and for some reason a 300 second exposure thrown off in there for shits and giggles. Stacked in AstroFX, processed in Star Tools, and curve adjustments in LightRoom4.
Satellite traveling through the upper right quadrant of the photo.
Equipment:
Lens: Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II
Camera: Celestron NightScape CCD
Guiding: Celestron NexGuide on a C8 at f/6.3
Mount: Celestron CGEM-DX
The area around the head of Scorpius, including the bright star Antares at lower left of centre and the dark lanes leading to the star Rho Ophiuchi. The area is filled with colourful nebulosity, including yellow and blue reflection nebulas and magenta emission nebulas. To the right of Antares is the globular cluster Messier 4. The field is similar to what binoculars would take in.
I shot this the morning of May 5, 2014, from the Four Bar Cottages near the Arizona Sky Village, near Portal Arizona. This is a stack of 10 x 3 minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 135mm lens and Canon 5D Mark II (filter modified) at ISO 1600. The camera was tracking, but not guiding, on the iOptron SkyTracker. Stacked with Median combine to eliminate satellite trails.
The Milky Way in Sagittarius (bottom) and Scorpius (left and top) including the Galactic Centre area at centre frame. ALong the Milky Way are numerous deep sky objects, from the False Comet area (NGC 6231) at right. Messier 6 and 7 star clusters in Scorpius to M8 and M20 in Sagittarius (left of centre) and M16 and M17 at left edge in Serpens. The Dark Horse lanes of dark dust reach from Ophiuchus up into Scorpius and Antares, the yellow star at top surrounded by blue and magenta nebulosity. Corona Australis is at bottom.
This is a stack of 4 x 6 minute exposures at f/2.8 with the Canon 35mm L-Series prime lens at filter-modified Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 800, plus a stack of two shots, same exposures, taken through the Kenko Softon filter for the star glows. Taken from Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia, April 2014. Area was in the east with some sky gradients.
This is a cropped version of my WISE Rho Ophiuchi mosaic, showcasing the prettiest parts, including the stellar nursery, Antares, Sigma Scorpii, and the three globular clusters. See the full mosaic for more information.
Full mosaic link: www.flickr.com/photos/geckzilla/28192549011/
This version has labels.
It captures a 180° panorama of the rich and colourful summer Milky Way over the iconic Sweetgrass Hills of Montana, specifically the West Butte, but as seen looking south from Alberta, from the Sunset Point viewpoint at Writing-on-Stone (Aisinai'pi) Provincial Park. From this latitude of 49º N the lower tail of Scorpius never rises above the horizon and the deep sky objects that are visible here appear low.
In the valley below winds the Milk River which flows into the Missouri River watershed and into the Gulf of Mexico. The buildings are the restored barracks of the North West Mounted Police, built at the mouth of Police Coulee in the late 1800s to guard against illegal whiskey-trading Americans!
An arc of yellow-green airglow tints the sky. Yellow Antares and some of the stars of Scorpius are reflected in the river at right.
The bright star at right is the red giant (here looking yellow) Antares. The region around Antares is rich in red/magenta emission and blue reflection nebulas. However, unusually, the nebula around Antares itself looks yellow. Below Antares in the large red nebula RCW 129, from the Rodgers-Campbell-Whiteoak catalogue. Above it is the blue Rho Ophiuchi nebula, aka IC 4604, and the pink Sharpless 2-9. Above them is the Blue Horsehead Nebula, aka IC 4592. At top is the vast red Zeta Ophiuchi Nebula, aka Sharpless 2-27.
Above centre is the complex of dark dusty nebulas that make up the Dark Prancing Horse, itself made of many "B" objects from E.E. Barnard's catalogue of dark nebulas. The most prominent is called the Pipe Nebula, at bottom, made of B78 and B59.
At centre, the Milky Way is populated by many star clusters and nebulas, most from the 18th century catalogue of Charles Messier. The bright Lagoon (M8) and small Trifid (M20) Nebulas are left of the Pipe Nebula. Above them is the Small Sagittarius Starcloud, aka M24, flanked by the star clusters M23 to the right and M25 to the left.
Nikon D750 (Stock)
Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 AI-S ED lens
f/2.8
ISO 1600
AstroTrac TT320X-AG - no guiding
Induro CLT404L Tripod
Acquisition:
20 x 180" exposures (60 mins. total integration time)
Processing:
RawTherapee, Deep Sky Stacker, RNC-Color-Stretch, & Photoshop.
Copyright: www.instagram.com/robin_onderka
So what can you do, if you arrive at a place and got only like 5 minutes before unexpected clouds ruin your vision? This picture was made only from 5 lights and 20 darks stacked. I wanted to give this region a looong integration, maybe couple of hours during the summer, but we are not very lucky with the clear nights this year...
Rho Ophiuchi is very low on a horizon here in Czech Republic, so it is difficult to capture this region by default. Still happy with the result tho.
6D mod + Samyang 135/2
15 x 60" f/2.4 ISO 1600 || rotated by 90 degrees
Location: Beskid Mountains, Czech Republic
This version has labels.
It captures the colourful and contrasty area of summer sky in Scorpius and Ophiuchus as it was rising into position over the iconic Sweetgrass Hills of Montana, specifically the West Butte, but as seen looking south from Alberta, from the Sunset Point viewpoint at Writing-on-Stone (Aisinai'pi) Provincial Park. From this latitude of 49º N the lower tail of Scorpius never rises above the horizon and the deep sky objects that are visible here appear low in the south.
Some green bands of airglow tint the sky.
The bright star at right is the red giant (here looking yellow) Antares. Beside it is the fuzzy-looking Messier object, M4, a globular star cluster. Several other Messier globulars are in the field: M9, M19, M62, and M80, but all appearing starlike at this scale.
The pink nebula at left in Sagittarius is Messier 8, the Lagoon Nebula. Above it is the smaller Trifid Nebula M20.
At right the region around Antares is rich in red/magenta emission and blue reflection nebulas. However, unusually, the nebula around Antares itself looks yellow. Above it is the blue Rho Ophiuchi nebula, aka IC 4604, and the pink Sharpless 2-29. At top is the Blue Horsehead Nebula, aka IC 4592.
The most notable sky feature is the complex of dark dusty nebulas that make up the Dark Prancing Horse, itself made of many "B" objects from E.E. Barnard's catalogue of dark nebulas. The most prominent is called the Pipe Nebula, at bottom, made of B78 and B59. Above it is the small Snake Nebula, B72.
Technical:
This is a blend of:
- a stack of 4 x 2-minute untracked exposures for the ground,
- with a stack of 4 x 2-minute tracked exposures for the sky taken immediately after without changing tripod position. However, the camera was aimed higher for the sky images, resulting in a square format image.
All were with the Canon RF28-70mm lens at 56mm and wide open at f/2 on the astro-modified Canon EOS R at ISO 800. On the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. The lens had an URTH Night broadband
Questo complesso di nebulose di vario tipo che circondano la gigante rossa Antares, la stella più luminosa della bellissima costellazione dello Scorpione, e di cui fa parte la famosa nebulosità attorno alla stella "Rho Ophiuchi", mi ha sempre affascinato e già da più anni ho tentato di riprenderla.
Ma, complice anche il soggetto non facile e molto evanescente, per cause meteo e/o errori durante l'acquisizione, non avevo mai raggiunto un risultato soddisfacente.
Anche quest'anno ho ritentato in due sessioni distinte.
La prima del 16 giugno 2012 durante la quale a causa della non ottima trasparenza del cielo
l'Inquinamento luminoso (IL) mi ha costretto ad utilizzare l'astronomik CLS unitamente ad una posa di soli 300sec.
Il risultato però è stato rovinato da un mio errore in fase di acquisizione: ho sottostimato il
valore del dithering. Se a questo aggiungiamo la temperatura ambiente di circa 19°che a 1600m slm sono un pò tanti pur essendo in Sicilia, si può immaginare la tipologia e la quantità di rumore presente nella foto.
Fortunatamente si è presentatala l'opportunità di una seconda sessione la sera del 23 giugno.
Questa volta le condizioni meteo erano più favorevoli e pur utilizzando una posa di 300sec a 1600iso ho deciso di non utilizzare filtri anti-IL.
Se da un lato il rumore era molto contenuto, dall'altro il gradiente da IL ha praticamente cancellato la nebulosità rossa presente attorno alla stella "tau Scorpii".
Ho cercato di rimediare mediando con PS le due sessioni.
Il risultato a dire il vero non mi soddisfa del tutto, ma ho ritenuto che il lavoro elaborativo dedicatogli meritasse la pubblicazione.
LA versione a maggior risoluzione >> www.astrobin.com/full/14496/0/?mod=none&real=
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Lens: Zenit Giove-11A 135mm f/4 (ЗЕНИТ ЮПИТЕР-11A)
Camera Canon EOS 550D (Rebel T2i) mod. Baader BCF
Mount: Sky Watcher HEQ5 Synscan
date 16/06/2012 and 23/06/2012
35x300s 1600iso / 21 dark /21 flat / 21 bias (16/06/2012)
integration 2h 55min
21x300s 1600iso / 21 dark /21 flat / 21 bias (23/06/2012)
integration 1h 45min
Seeing 3 (scala Antoniadi inversa)
temperatura 19°C (16/06) and 14°C (23/06)
Location: Monti Nebrodi (Sicily-Italy) a 1600m slm
Elaborazione DSS + PSCS3
The spectacular area around the Galactic Centre of the Milk Way in Scorpius (at right) and Sagittarius (at left) as shot from Australia with this area nearly overhead in the wee hours of an April morning. ..Saturn is left of centre. Yellow Antares is right of centre. ..The region is rich in nebulas and star clusters. The Dark Horse and Pipe Nebula is above centre. The Sagittarius Starcloud is left of centre. The Small Sagittarius Starcloud, M24, is at upper left in the Milky Way. ..This is a stack of 5 x 3-minute exposures with the 35mm Canon L-Series lens at f/2.8 and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600, with an additional exposure taken through the Kenko Softon A filter layered in to add the star glows.
First light! Rho Ophiuch (IC4604), IC 4603, IC4605 in the constellation Scorpio. 30x150sec, without filter, Sony A7s (modded, uncooled), RASA 11", ASA DDM85 mount. Tenerife 1200 a.s.l.
The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is one of the closest star-forming regions to our solar system. It lies 460 light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus and covers an angular area of 4.5° × 6.5°. Within this cloud is material that totals about 3,000 times the mass of the Sun.
Telescope: Pentax 6x7 SMC 150mm @f/5.6
Accessories: QSI-to-Pentax adapter; Dew control by Dew Buster; Alnitak Flat-Man
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: QSI583wsg CCD @ -10.0C
Guiding: Starlight Xpress Lodestar via PHD
Filters: Astrodon Tru-balance E-Series Gen II LRGB filters
Exposure: 19 x 10min. binned 1x1 Luminance; 10 x 5min. binned 2x2 in each R, G, & B
Acquisition: ImagesPlus 5.0 Camera Control
Processing: PixInsight 1.8; Adobe PhotoShop CC
Date(s): June 30 & July 3, 2014
SQM reading (begin - end): N1:20.94 – 20.57; N2:20.19 – 21.01
Temperature (begin - end): N1:75.9ºF – 73.4ºF; N2:64.4ºF – 59.0ºF
Capture conditions: N1 - transparency: Avg 3/5; seeing: Avg 3/5; N2 - transparency: Above Avg 4/5; seeing: Above Avg 4/5
Location: Natchez Trace State Park, Pin Oak Lake RV Campground, Lexington/Wildersville, TN, USA
Canon EOS 6D Mark II
Samyang 135 mm f/2.0
10x120" f/2.0 ISO 400 + 6 Darks
SW: Pixinsight, Photoshop, Deep Sky Stacker
I’ve been imaging the Milky Way with a hacked point-and-shoot camera for a few years, stacking and tracking using a LEGO barn door tracker I designed. Building on what I’ve learned from that process, I wanted to try a Milky Way along the horizon for my first 6D image.
This park is a few hours south of San Francisco at the end of a long winding road. We planned to image from a picnic table near the main campground. But on our way in, cars were parked along the road in every conceivable location, even the overflow lot was full .. it was Memorial Day weekend. We were considering alternate plans when we noticed the only available spot within miles .. was right next to our table! We pulled in just in time to catch the Milky Way rise.
EXIF
Canon 6D 20 sec f/2.8 ISO 6400 .. 5 sequential images
Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM .. Set to manual
Processed in PS
SOCIAL
instagram.com/brian.design.ig
flickr.com/22920269@N03
5/27/2017 11:20 PM
A view of the region surrounding the Rho Ophiuchi Nebula captured on the morning of April 22, 2012 using a Nikon D5100 DSLR (ISO 1600, 60 second exposure x 17) and a Nikkor AI-S 105mm 1:2.5 lens set to aperture f/2.8. This photo covers a field of view of just under 8 degrees on a side (similar to that of a standard pair of binoculars).
This image is best viewed against a dark background (press the "L" key to enter the Flickr light box).
Created using a stack of 17 images that were tracked during each 60-second-long exposure using a hand-driven, barn-door-type mount (two boards, a hinge, and a screw you turn by hand). Image integration and adjustments were done with PixInsight v01.07.06.0793 with final tweaks in Photoshop CS5.
All rights reserved.
It took us a while to get this shot. Shark Fin Cove is just off Scenic Highway 1 near Davenport, CA. There was a lot of activity after sunset, though with a bit of planning and patience, we were able to enjoy the view and get a few images before the fog rolled in. But not without a price! Parking after sunset earned us a $96.50 donation to California Parks and Recreation.
The last time we were here, we used a hacked point and shoot camera with my LEGO Barn Door Tracker.
EXIF
Canon 6D 20 sec f/2.8 ISO 6400 .. 16 sequential images
Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM .. Set to manual
Processed in PS
SOCIAL
instagram.com/brian.design.ig
flickr.com/22920269@N03
6/17/2017 12:30 AM
Rho Ophiuchi Cloud complex are interstellar clouds located 460 light years from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus and is near the center of our Milky Way galaxy. It's definitely one of the more colorful regions in the sky. You can see the globular cluster Messier 4, M4.
I used a Hasselblad 120mm f/4 CF Makro Planar lens to capture the region. The mount was a Losmandy GM811G and the camera an ASI2600MC Pro. Pixinsight, Photoshop, and Lightroom were used to process it.
(Reprocessed - July 14, 2024)
The many spectacular colors of the Rho Ophiuchi (oh'-fee-yu-kee) clouds highlight the many processes that occur there. The blue regions shine primarily by reflected light. Blue light from the Rho Ophiuchi star system and nearby stars reflects more efficiently off this portion of the nebula than red light. The Earth's daytime sky appears blue for the same reason. The red and yellow regions shine primarily because of emissions from the nebula's atomic and molecular gas. Light from nearby blue stars - more energetic than the bright star Antares - knocks electrons away from the gas, which then shines when the electrons recombine with the gas. The dark brown regions are caused by dust grains - born in young stellar atmospheres - which effectively block light emitted behind them. The Rho Ophiuchi star clouds, well in front of the globular cluster M4, are even more colorful than humans can see - the clouds emit light in every wavelength band from the radio to the gamma-ray.
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Location: Alabama Hills, California, USA (Bortle 2)
Date: May 29, 2022
Moon: New Moon (0%)
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC Pro
Telescope/Lens: Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC Manual Focus Lens
Filter: Astronomik L2 UV/IR Block 2" Filter
Mount: iOptron SkyGuider Pro
Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Pro
Battery: Goal Zero Yeti 1000 Core
Camera Settings: Gain 100 | f/5.6 | 240 sec
Acquisition: 23 x 4 min Lights | 30 Darks | 30 Bias
Integration Time: 1 hr 32 min
Software: PixInsight, NoiseXTerminator, Adobe Lightroom Classic
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Copyright © 2022 Steven K. Wu Photography. All Rights Reserved.
One of the objects I was able to photograph last night with some unusually clear sky after many cloudy nights, despite it being quite near the horizon. This is one of the more colorful regions of the Milky Way, called the Rho Ophiuchi nebula after the bright star within the blue cloud near the top. The brighter red star near the bottom is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius called Antares, the Heart of the Scorpion. Much of the region is filled with dust, reflecting the light of nearby stars as well as some gas, mostly hydrogen, glowing because it's energized by the nearby hot stars.
Tech: 12 300 sec. exposures, Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 lens @200mm, ZWO ASI294MC camera, iOptron CEM25P mount, processed in Astro Pixel Processor and Adobe Lightroom.
PID 2739 (o010_t007, o013_t009), 2023/04/05-06
F200W Blue
F356W Green
F444W Red
Initial processing. Will definitely be revisiting this one! :)
🌌 IC 4604 – The Blue Nebula of Rho Ophiuchi 🔥✨
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www.instagram.com/ale_motta_astrofotografia
Here is IC 4604, one of the most stunning reflection nebulae in the sky, located at the heart of the Rho Ophiuchi region, about 460 light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus. Its intense blue color is caused by nearby hot stars, whose light is scattered by fine interstellar dust.
📍 Constellation: Ophiuchus ♒
🌍 Distance: ~460 light-years
💫 Type: Reflection Nebula
🔭 Apparent Magnitude: ~4.6
📏 Apparent Size: ~3° × 2°
️ Coordinates (J2000): RA 16h 25m 35s | Dec -23° 26′ 49″
✨ Fun Facts:
The Rho Ophiuchi region is a massive stellar nursery, full of young stars in formation. 🌟🌀
The intense blue color is due to Rayleigh scattering, the same phenomenon that makes our daytime sky blue! 🌍💙
This nebula is one of the closest star-forming regions to Earth, making it a natural laboratory for studying young stars. 🔬💫
A breathtaking corner of the cosmos, where dust and gas mix to create wonders. Who else loves reflection nebulae? ✨💙
Lights: 131x300" (LRGB)
Telescope: Takahashi FSQ-106ED
Camera: QHY 600M
Filters: LRGB Astrodon
Processed: Pixinsight
Date: 11/07/2023
Unmodded 5DmkII, 85 f/1.2 @ f/2.8, Astrotrac.
30 x 60 seconds subs @ ISO 800, 15 darks, 50 offsets, no flats
Preprocessed and processed with PixInsight, resize and color balance with Photoshop CS5.
Le complexe nuageux de Rho Ophiuchi (ρ Ophiuchi) est situé à 390 années-lumière de la Terre dans la constellation du Serpentaire Ophiucus. Ce nuage moléculaire géant de la Voie lactée est composé en partie d'hydrogène ionisé et de poussière sombre, et doit son nom à l'étoile qui domine la région dans laquelle il se trouve. Il est rempli de gaz et d'étoiles de différentes tailles et âges. Ici, les rayons X de Chandra sont violets et révèlent les atmosphères extérieures chaudes des étoiles naissantes. Les données infrarouges de Weeb-NIRCam sont rouges, jaunes, cyan, bleu clair et bleu plus foncé, et offrent des vues des régions spectaculaires de gaz et de poussière.
Description de l'image
Le nuage vert trouble et doré ressemble à une tête fantomatique de profil, plongeant depuis le coin supérieur gauche, traînant des vrilles en forme de cheveux. Le bord inférieur et le coin inférieur droit de l'image sont traversés par un nuage long et étroit, rouge brique, qui ressemble à la braise d'un bâton tiré d'un feu. Plusieurs grandes étoiles blanches parsèment l’image. Beaucoup sont entourées d’anneaux violets néon brillants et brillent de pointes de diffraction (cf. Radiographie : NASA/CXC/MIT/C. Canizares ; IR : NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/K. Pontoppidan ; Traitement d'images : NASA/ESA/STScI/Alyssa Pagan, NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare et J. Major).
Pour situer le complexe nuageux de Rho Ophiuchi (ρ Ophiuchi) dans la constellation du Serpentaire Ophiucus :
Cline River Photography, Photo by Edwina Podemski.
View or purchase items from our portfolio at: www.clineriverphotography.com
Rho Ophiuchi Complex Nebulae (IC 4603 and 4604) , Borg 800mm/125 (flattener 1.08x), Sony A7s (CentralDS modded and cooled), ISO 4000, no filter, 170 x 40 sec, EQ45mount unguided, 2015-07-19 Tenerife, 1200 m a.s.l.
The Rho Ophiuchus Nebulae Complex is located in the constellation of Ophiuchus. It features, the red giant Antares, the Ophiuchi triple star surrounded in reflection nebulae IC4604 located in the upper left. Also present is a globular cluster M4 in the upper right, with a dense star core accompanied by a 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 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 is an ongoing project that I'm adding more exposures to as weather, the Moon, or time permits. My goal is to acquire 12 hours total of exposure on this area. Currently, I have a little under 4 hours. I will replace this photo with updated versions as they are acquired.
Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f4L USM @ f5.6 200mm
Mount: Atlas EQ-G controlled with EQMOD
Camera: Canon 350D Modified with Baader-ACF
Filter: Astronomik CLS filter
Guide Telescope: Stellarvue AT1010 78mm Achromatic
Guide Camera: Orion StarShoot AutoGuider using PHD Guiding software
The area around the head of Scorpius, including the bright star Antares at lower left of centre and the dark lanes leading to the star Rho Ophiuchi. The area is filled with colourful nebulosity, including yellow and blue reflection nebulas and magenta emission nebulas. To the right of Antares is the globular cluster Messier 4. The field is similar to what binoculars would take in.
I shot this the morning of May 4, 2014, from the Four Bar Cottages near the Arizona Sky Village, near Portal Arizona. This is a stack of 10 x 4 minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 135mm lens and Canon 5D Mark II (filter modified) at ISO 1600. This overexposed the frames but gave enough signal to bring out the faint dark nebulas without introducing a lot of noise. Even so, I forgot to turn on Long Exposure Noise Reduction so no dark frames were applied to these images. The camera was tracking, but not guiding, on the iOptron SkyTracker. Stacked with Median combine to eliminate satellite trails.
All of Scorpius, plus parts of Lupus and Ara regions of the southern Milky Way. This area was directly overhead when I took this at about 4:30 am local time on April 6, 2014 from near Coonabarabran, Australia. The head of Scorpius is at top his tail at bottom though you could turn this image any direction and it would be correct as seen in the sky at this latitude, depending on the time of night. But in portrait mode like this north is at top. Along the Milky Way are numerous nebulas, including the False Comet area, the Cat's Paw area, and the colourful nebulas around Antares at top. The dark Pipe Nebula is at left of frame.
This is a stack of 4 x 6 minute exposures at f/2.8 with the Sigma 50mm lens on the filter-modiifed Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 800. An additional exposure with the Kenko Softon filter was layered in to add the star glows.
ALMA has observed stars like the Sun at a very early stage in their formation and found traces of methyl isocyanate — a chemical building block of life. This is the first ever detection of this prebiotic molecule towards a solar-type protostar, the sort from which our Solar System evolved. The discovery could help astronomers understand how life arose on Earth.
More information: www.eso.org/public/images/eso1718a/
Credit:
ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2/L. Calçada
The colourful region around yellow Antares (bottom) in Scorpius and blue Rho Ophiuchi (top) in Ophiuchus. The nebulas are largely reflection nebulas, taking on the colour of the stars embedded in the nebulas. However, the field also contains a lot of emission nebulosity, hydrogen gas glowing red and magenta. Plus there are fingers of brown dark dusty nebulosity. It is one of the most colourful regions of the sky.
At right of Antares are two globular clusters, NGC 6144 (small, at 2 o'clock from Antares) and the larger Messier 4 right of Antares.
This is a stack of 5 x 8 minute exposures with the Borg 77mm astrographic apo (330mm focal length) at f/4.3 and the filter-modified Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 800. I took this March 31/April 1 from Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia.
I didn't get as much time on this as I'd hoped - the light from rising sun begins much earlier than I realized! However I couldn't help seeing what could be made from it.
Perhaps one last crack at this target for this year next month. Maybe try a new dark site and a whack more exposure time.
D750, Sigma ART 85, f/2.8 iso800
24 x 60s
More on instagram @van.zann
Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called "Rho Oph" by astronomers, it's one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula is about 407 light years away from Earth.
Rho Oph is a complex made up of a large main cloud of molecular hydrogen, a key molecule allowing new stars to form from cold cosmic gas, with two long streamers trailing off in different directions. Recent studies using the latest X-ray and infrared observations reveal more than 300 young stellar objects within the large central cloud. Their median age is only 300,000 years, very young compared to some of the universe's oldest stars, which are more than 12 billion years old.
This false-color image of Rho Oph's main cloud, Lynds 1688, was created with data from Spitzer's infrared array camera, which has the highest spatial resolution of Spitzer's three imaging instruments. Blue represents 3.6 micron light, green is 4.5 micron light, orange is 5.8, and red is 8.0. The multiple wavelengths reveal different aspects of the dust surrounding and between the embedded stars, yielding information about the stars and their birthplace.
The colors in this image reflect the relative temperatures and evolutionary states of the various stars. The youngest stars are surrounded by dusty disks of gas from which they, and their potential planetary systems, are forming. These young disk systems show up as yellow-green tinted stars in this image. Some of these young stellar objects are surrounded by their own compact nebulae. More evolved stars, which have shed their natal material, are blue-white.
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天蝎座 / Constellation of Scorpius
天蝎座鄰近銀河中心，可算是各種天體雲氣比較豐富的一帶。圖左可看到藍馬頭和星空調色盤；右邊則有班節蝦星雲、貓爪星雲、和龍蝦星雲。熟悉星座的朋友可能會留意到左邊藍馬頭多了顆亮星。那是因為這圖是攝於今年四月， 土星剛好移到馬鼻的位置上…
這圖用上兩幅不同相片拼接並加以疊合，處理時花了一番氣力但也實在有趣… 希望下次再挑戰多幾幅的拼接試試。
Photo by Michael Leung
日期：2015/04/23 @ New Zealand - Lake Pukaki
相機：Canon 650D mod.
鏡頭：Canon EF 50/1.8 @ f/4
追星儀：Kenko Skymemo RS
設定：ISO 1600, 120sec x 18 x 2
香港拍攝難度：★★★ (五星最高) (部分在香港位處仰角比較低位置)
建議鏡頭焦距：35 ~ 135mm
適合拍攝月份：4月 ~ 8月 (香港)
大概方向：東南昇、西南落
Voici un résultat de ma nuit dernière.
Après ma tentative avec Orion cet hiver, j'ai essayé la zone d'Antarès et ses nébuleuses sombres. Cette fois à l'aide d'une monture motorisée.
Jupiter préside au beau milieu. A gauche, la nébuleuse du cheval noir (on imagine bien le cheval en tournant la tête). A droite, Antarès (une supergéante, il s'agit de l'étoile à l'éclat jaune brillant en bas). Tout près, ce qui semble être une étoile un peu floue, est en fait un amas d'étoiles. Les bras noirs qui paraissent se tendre vers Jupiter sont la nébuleuse sombre de la rivière noire.
Les couleurs ne sont pas très précises, mais je suis plutôt fière de mon 1er essai d'une monture motorisée.
Sony a6300, Sony E 35mm F/1,8, Star Adventurer
39x60s 35mm f/2.2 iso3200
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Here is a result of my last night.
After my attempt with Orion this winter, I tried the Antares area and its dark nebulae. This time using a motorized mount.
Jupiter stand in the middle. On the left, the Dark Horse Nebula. On the right, Antares (a supergiant, this is the bright yellow star at the bottom). Nearby, what looks like a fuzzy star, is actually a star cluster. The dark arms that seem to stretch out toward Jupiter are the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.
The colors are not very precise, but I am rather proud of my first test of a motorized mount (and my second picture of deep-sky object)