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Steve Cooper | all galleries >> Galleries >> Nebula > Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex
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Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex

This image is almost 5 degrees (10 full moons) across. "The blue regions shine primarily by reflected light. Blue light from the star Rho Ophiuchi 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 emission 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 visible here on the upper right, are even more colorful than humans can see - the clouds emits light in every wavelength band from the radio to the gamma-ray." (from APOD)

QSI 683wsg Camera and Borg 55 FL telescope at f/3.6. AP 900 mount. SX Loadstar autoguiding camera. Astrodon LRGB filter set.
23 X 10 min L, 13 X 10 min R, 5 X 10min G, 7 X 10 B. Bin 1X1.
Sensor temp @ -20 deg. Frames acquired with MaxIm DL 6, calibrated in CCD Stack2, and processed using PixInsight.
Stardust Ranch, Okeechobee FL

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. (Jeremiah 32:17 NIV)


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