RHO OPIHUCHI NEBULA COMPLEX

 NEBULOSITY COMPLEX IN SCORPIUS AND OPHIUCHUS

(Image centered at: ra 19h:29 m / dec  -24º 25')

JUNE 2026, Observatorio Cielos Albertnos, Buenos Aires, Argentina

DATA

TYPE: Reflection Nebula

APPARENT DIAMETER:  FOV 5 x 3.5 degrees

APPARENT MAGNITUDE (V): NA

DISTANCE: between 400 to 800 light years

IMAGE INFORMATION

INSTRUMENT: Askar 180 FMA 

CAMERA: QSI 583 WS Mono Camera

MOUNT: VIXEN GPDX with SW EQ5 Motors guided off axis with a SX Lodestar Camera 

FILTERS: Baader LRGB Set 

SKY CONDITIONS: Bortle 3 skies

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND IMAGE SESSION

The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is a region of interstellar clouds with different nebulae, and represent one of the most colorful areas in the night sky. The blue nebulosity is a reflection nebula coming from the triple star system Rho Ophiuchi which sits near the constellation of Scorpius. The bright star at the bottom left is Antares, a massive red supergiant star, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, and the 15th-brightest star in the night sky. Its name means "rival of Mars" because its red color looks like that planet. Close to Antares we have the large Globular Cluster Messier 4 with a diameter of of 26.3 arc minutes almost the size of our Moon. The dark nebulae in this image are dense cosmic dust clouds that block background starlight, most notably Barnard 44 and Barnard 45 also called the "Dark River" streamers.