Takahashi FSQ106N f/5, FLI Proline 16803
Frames: Lum: 22×600″ (3h 40′) + RGB: 60×600″ (10h)
Rho Ophiuchi is a binary stellar system located only 400 light-years away, in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus. This complex of clouds of gas and dust, extends for an area equivalent to 10 full moons and is a region of star formation.
The Rho Ophiuchi complex is characterized by the harmonious combination of strong colors, namely:
• blue and pink colored areas associated with emission nebulae;
• numerous clues of dark brown dust;
• the yellow star Antares, a supergiant and the brightest star in the night sky, located 500 light-years away; and
• to its right, the globular cluster M4 (NGC 6121), albeit in a more distant plane, about 7,000 light-years.
One question we can ask is why this image is so colorful. Colors result from physical processes. The fine dust illuminated by the starlight produces reflection nebulae; the UV radiation emitted by the stars excites the atoms and causes reddish emission nebulae; dust clouds block the light from the stars and give rise to dark clues. But there is still more radiation from the electromagnetic spectrum that is emitted but is not captured by our eyes, as is the case of gamma radiation, X-rays, ultraviolet and infrared.