A fairly deep NGC 6231

[Stevec35 (Steve)]

This image is centered on the bright open cluster NGC 6231 in Scorpius. I've been adding to it from time to time and last night managed to get 3 hours of Ha. I probably overdid the saturation again but I make no apologies for liking colorful images.

Cheers

Steve

http://members.pcug.org.au/~stevec/n...11K_FSQ106.htm

[Peter Ward]

This is pretty. H alpha, beta and dust in the mix.
Nice one.

[Logieberra (Logan)]

Nice one Steve, I'm glad that the clouds opened up for your new FSQ

[Ross G]

A very good photo Steve.

I really like the colours.

Ross.

[Joshua Bunn (Joshua)]

HI Steve,

This is very pretty with a variety of colours in the star fields and nebula. Nice. The sheer population and density of the field is very attractive also.

thanks
Josh

[Stevec35 (Steve)]

Originally Posted by Joshua Bunn

HI Steve,

This is very pretty with a variety of colours in the star fields and nebula. Nice. The sheer population and density of the field is very attractive also.

thanks
Josh

Thanks Josh. There's certainly a lot going on in that field. Maybe I'll do a mosaic.

Originally Posted by Ross G

A very good photo Steve.

I really like the colours.

Ross.

Thanks Ross

Originally Posted by Logieberra

Nice one Steve, I'm glad that the clouds opened up for your new FSQ

Thanks Logan. It's not so new any more. Been more than 6 months now.

Originally Posted by Peter Ward

This is pretty. H alpha, beta and dust in the mix.
Nice one.

Thanks Peter

[madbadgalaxyman (Robert)]

lovely image showing the cluster, and some of the associated OB association, and part of the giant arc of nebulosity on one side of the cluster.

I seem to recall that the cluster is one of the most prominent groups of (supergiant & superluminous) OB stars in local space.
I can't remember whether the supergiant arc of nebulosity is caused by the energy emitted from the cluster stars or by a supernova.

Here is a larger section of the supergiant arc or shell, from wikisky:

[Stevec35 (Steve)]

[QUOTE=madbadgalaxyman;847097]lovely image showing the cluster, and some of the associated OB association, and part of the giant arc of nebulosity on one side of the cluster.

I seem to recall that the cluster is one of the most prominent groups of (supergiant & superluminous) OB stars in local space.
I can't remember whether the supergiant arc of nebulosity is caused by the energy emitted from the cluster stars or by a supernova.

Here is a larger section of the supergiant arc or shell, from wikisky:


Thanks Robert. I must check out Wikisky. The attachment is very nice.

[gregbradley]

Oh Steve that's an awesome image. I love it!

I imaged NGC6231 a while ago but I never got much exposure time but I was excited by how good the subs were. I had no idea there was all this Ha around it. Mine was a much smaller image scale.

Your image is inspiring.

Greg.

[Paul Haese]

Superb image Steve. Great colour, lots of objects (I particularly like the dark tower) and great composition.

[Stevec35 (Steve)]

Originally Posted by Paul Haese

Superb image Steve. Great colour, lots of objects (I particularly like the dark tower) and great composition.

Thanks Paul. I've made further, hopefully non detrimental, changes to it so that the nebulosity is emphasized more than the stars.

Originally Posted by gregbradley

Oh Steve that's an awesome image. I love it!

I imaged NGC6231 a while ago but I never got much exposure time but I was excited by how good the subs were. I had no idea there was all this Ha around it. Mine was a much smaller image scale.

Your image is inspiring.

Greg.

Thanks Greg. I'm glad you liked it.

[madbadgalaxyman (Robert)]

Your very fine image has got me curious about what is going on in this dynamic area of our Galaxy!

The supergiant shell nebula is likely to be called RCW 113 , also known as Gum 55, but I have to check this. I have reliable Idents for many of these nebulae, hidden somewhere in my tall piles of scientific papers....but I must dig for it!

The cluster itself forms the core of Scorpius OB1, which is an extended association of O and B stars. (= Sco OB1)

N6231 has been reported as having 9 stars of spectral type O, which means that the cluster is the source an enormous amount of ionizing Ultraviolet Light output into the surrounding interstellar medium. Wouldn't surprise me if the cluster itself was the energy source for the supergiant shell.

Johannes Schedler has done an extremely wide field shot of this region, see:

http://panther-observatory.com

(It is necessary to scroll a long way down his page of thumbnails)

[madbadgalaxyman (Robert)]

An interactive (with zoom and pan) "virtual observatory" type interface that allows you to move over the face of the Milky Way, in H-alpha (and other wavelengths) is the Milky Way Explorer:

http://galaxymap.org/mwe/mwe.php

If you select the option called "SuperCOSMOS Hydrogen Alpha", this enables you to view and move over much of the southen Milky Way as seen in Halpha.

[Stevec35 (Steve)]

Thanks for the info Robert. Yes you do get the impression looking at the image that NGC 6231 is the source of practically everything that's going on.

Cheers

Steve

[madbadgalaxyman (Robert)]

Agreed, Steve.
And what a magnificent and complex region it is.
This area is grand enough to get my mind & eyes off those external galaxies, for a while.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Hey that's a beauty Steve, such a diverse area - great stuff

Mike

[Stevec35 (Steve)]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Hey that's a beauty Steve, such a diverse area - great stuff

Mike

Thanks Mike. It certainly turned out a more interesting image than I thought it was going to be.

[TheDecepticon]

Yes, very cool. Great visual cluster, too.

[Stevec35 (Steve)]

Originally Posted by TheDecepticon

Yes, very cool. Great visual cluster, too.

Thanks. It is a great cluster.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Real nice close up Steve. It's a great region in Ha. I shot that with the hyperstar a while ago no really knowing where I was and trying to find the prawn.