Photo of the Week for June 14, 2019
Some sky regions are simply chock full of deep-sky wonders, such as this one straddling the Scorpius-Ophiuchus border. Antares is the bright star cocooned in orange nebulosity at bottom centre. To the right of Antares is the magnificent globular cluster M4, and keen-eyed viewers will also note NGC6144—a smaller globular cluster northwest of Antares. Near the top of the frame is another stand-out attraction, the bluish reflection nebulosity enveloping the lovely multiple star,Rho Ophiuchi. This feature is catalogued as IC4604, but is better known simply as the Rho Ophiuchi Nebula. Just south of IC4604 is a second reflection nebula, IC4603, while the prominent fingers of dark nebulosity to the left of IC4603 the image form part of a nebulous complex called Barnard 44. That’s quite a tally for an area that’s less than six degrees wide.
This remarkably colourful photo was captured in early June, 2019, from the town of Hanwell, New Brunswick, by Stephan Hamel. Stephen recorded a total of 3½ hours exposure with a ZWO ASI1600MM Pro monochromatic imaging camera, a Nikon 180mm lens (used at f.4) and a set of LRGB filters.
