Friday, June 27, 2014

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.


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

Exposure: 3x15 min, ISO 800

No comments:

Post a Comment