RCW 85

 EMISSION NEBULA IN CENTAURUS (THE CENTAUR )

(Image centered at: ra 14h:23 m / dec -61º 29')

AUGUST 2026, Observatorio Cielos Albertnos, Buenos Aires, Argentina

DATA

TYPE: Emission Nebula

APPARENT DIAMETER:  60 to 90 arc minutes

APPARENT MAGNITUDE (V): n/a

DISTANCE: 5.000 to 6000 light years

IMAGE INFORMATION

INSTRUMENT: Orion Optics UK 6" Newtonian with Ultra Grade Optics working at f 4.5

CAMERA: QHY 183 Mono Camera

MOUNT: SKY WATCHER NEQ6 Guided off axis with QHY 5II Mono Camera 

FILTERS: Antlia LRGB Set Ha Antlia 3.5 nm

SKY CONDITIONS: Bortle 3 to 4 skies

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND IMAGE SESSION

RCW stands for astronomers Rodgers, Campbell & Whiteoak. In 1960 they published an astronomical catalog of 182 Ha - emission regions of the southern Milky Way. RCW 85 shines in southern night skies between bright stars Alpha and Beta Centauri. About 5,000 light years distant, the hazy interstellar cloud of glowing hydrogen gas and dust is faint.

The bright star in the image is GSC 9006-5415 shining at magnitude 5.19 and it is not related to RCW 85. The group of blue stars at the bottom right configures open star cluster Lynga 2 with 12 arc minutes of apparent diameter and 6.4 of magnitude.