Michael A. Stecker
mstecker@dslextreme.com


 

Antares-Rho Ophiuchus Complex and Ophiuchus Milky Way
The bright yellow star on the right is Antares -- a red super giant which is surrounded by a
yellow-orange nebula.  Above it (north) is Rho Ophiuchus which is surronded by a blue nebula.  Just below Antares is the large diffuse red nebula RCW 129 and to its upper right is the small
red-blue nebula Sharpless-9.  Between these two nebulae is the globular cluster M4.  Long dark nebulae B44 and B45 extend to the left where they reach a myriad of dark nebulae in the bright Ophiuchus Milky Way.  The most prominent of these is the Pipe Nebula (LDN1773).
 
Photographic Data: The image is a composite of two 35-minute exposures made with a
Pentax 6x7 camera and 165 mm f/2.8 lens (stopped down to f/5.6). The film used was
unhypered Kodak Pro 400 PPF 120.