Albireo Observatory in Greece: June 2014

Friday, June 27, 2014

Milky Way around Sagittarius

Sagittarius lies in the direction of the densest part of the Milky Way, the spiral galaxy in which our Solar System resides. If it were not for interstellar dust, which is concentrated along the plane of the Milky Way, this constellation and those near it would be obscured by the brilliance of the galactic core. The field of view near the galactic center is heavily mottled with stars and interstellar matter. In addition, several large fuzzy patches of light are clearly visible.

Technical Details

Optics: Canon EF 24mm f/5.6 lens

Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan pro

Guiding: Skywatcher 9x50 finderscope+DMK21AU04

Camera: Canon EOS 450D

Date: 27 Jun, 2014

Location: Parnonas Mountain, Greece

Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex

Near the star Rho Ophiuchi, in the extreme southwest corner of Ophiuchus, is a region of strangeness and beauty. The star itself is enmeshed in a vast diffuse nebulosity, IC 4604, too faint to be studied visually. But from this nebulous region a number of dark narrow lanes flow out toward the east, appearing like black tentacles obscuring the starry background. These vacant lanes end near the star Xi Ophiuchi. Near Xi also is the large and strangely shaped dark cloud B63. This is an extraordinary region, described by Barnard as making a picture almost unequalled in interest in the entire heavens.