The heart of the Scorpion

[Mickoid]

On Wednesday night I took advantage of some clear skies and travelled out to a darker site ( about Bortle 4-5 ) just 30mins from home. The sky glow from LP was much less and the Milky Way was considerably brighter. I managed just under 1 hour on the Rho Ophiuchi region with a mixture of 1 and 2 minute subs at 1600iso using a 50mm f1.8 lens and a modded Canon 550d mounted on a Sightron Nano tracker. Transparency and seeing weren't great and there was a fair bit of wind but it beats trying to get this object from my backyard. The close up is a crop of the wide field.

[PKay]

Nice one Mick :thumbsup:

[AdamJL]

I always like a bit of Rho :)

Good work!

[Mickoid]

Thanks Peter and Adam, glad you liked it. Obviously this was put together with limited data and most of the more spectacular versions around of Rho incorporate hours of data. I shot these between f4 and f5.6 to reduce lens aberrations at the edges and CA. The trade off of course, was reduced signal but there is a chance to add more over the coming weeks, weather permitting.

[Anth10]

Nicely framed - like the dust trails leading into the Milky Way band- star colours are always a standout in this region -

Well done Mick.

[AlextheMartian]

Great shot Michael, nice amount of detail:thumbsup:

[JA]

Very nice Mick. Love the colour in that region.:thumbsup:

Best
JA

[leon]

Splendid work Mick, love it.

Leon

[Mickoid]

Thanks Alex, the Canon Nifty Fifty is always a reliable producer.


Thanks Anthony, yes one of the most colourful regions in the sky to capture at almost any focal length.


Cheers JA, a very popular target that is always pleasing to the eye.


Thanks Leon, it's a simple set up that can create impressive results if you take it to some darker skies.

[Baobab]

what a beauty, well done

[astronobob]

Real nice Michael, the 50mm lens & field suits this target perfect.
Have you tried the F1.8 50mm @ F3 - F3.5 -
Most fast lenses should work well enough at this apeture ?

Great colour stars, nebs and contrast with the tails, good job.