A fairly deep NGC 6231

[marco (Marco Lorenzi)]

Very Nice Steve, really looks the overal color rendition, well done!

Clear skies
Marco

[Stevec35 (Steve)]

Originally Posted by marco

Very Nice Steve, really looks the overal color rendition, well done!

Clear skies
Marco

Thanks Marco

Originally Posted by multiweb

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.

Thanks Marc. I was going to include the prawn in this composition but decided to centre on NGC 6231

[madbadgalaxyman (Robert)]

If you search in Google books , within the book "Sky Vistas: Astronomy for Binoculars and Richest-Field telescopes" by Crossen and Rhemann, you can find a couple of pages of detailed info about NGC 6231 and its associated broader concentration of stars known as Scorpius OB1.
I might abstract some of this info for IIS forum.

The total luminosity of NGC 6231 is comparable to that of Omega Centauri (!!), and the overall concentration of stars (cluster plus association) is a major tracer of the nearby spiral arm, that we see edge-on ; the arm runs from Sagittarius to Carina.
Oddly, this spiral arm is currently rather quiescent between Norma and Crux, with only a few major nebular complexes seen in this part of the Milky way, and these few nebulae are not very bright; there are not a lot of clusters of hot young stars that cause the interstellar medium to glow, in this part of the Milky Way.

[alpal]

It is a beautiful photo - well done.


As a minor point:
What about the blue halos around some stars?
Could that have been removed by better focusing of the blue filter?
I wouldn't expect halos from an FSQ using Astrodon filters.
Maybe the stars were just so bright that you were stuck with it?

[iceman (Mike)]

I really like this Steve! One of your best I think.
No need to apologise for super saturated colours - I love it too

This is now IOTW.

[TheDecepticon]

Congrats on your IOTW.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Originally Posted by iceman

No need to apologise for super saturated colours - I love it too

I second that and poroxy for Marcus Davies too

Mike

[Logieberra (Logan)]

Way to go Steve, representing the ol' ACT on IOTW!

[Stevec35 (Steve)]

Originally Posted by Logieberra

Way to go Steve, representing the ol' ACT on IOTW!

Thanks Logan

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

I second that and poroxy for Marcus Davies too

Mike

Thanks Mike

Originally Posted by TheDecepticon

Congrats on your IOTW.

Thanks Graham

Originally Posted by iceman

I really like this Steve! One of your best I think.
No need to apologise for super saturated colours - I love it too

This is now IOTW.

Thanks Mike. Rob Gendler said he would turn the saturation down just a tad but it's all a matter of taste. It's funny that this image started out as a test as I'm still having some flex problems with the FSQ.

Originally Posted by alpal

It is a beautiful photo - well done.


As a minor point:
What about the blue halos around some stars?
Could that have been removed by better focusing of the blue filter?
I wouldn't expect halos from an FSQ using Astrodon filters.
Maybe the stars were just so bright that you were stuck with it?

Thanks. I thought I checked focus for every colour. It's possible that the brightness of the stars did it. I did try and minimize the halos but the effect looked a bit unnatural. In any case I think the blue halos emphasize the fact that these are hot blue white stars.

Originally Posted by madbadgalaxyman

If you search in Google books , within the book "Sky Vistas: Astronomy for Binoculars and Richest-Field telescopes" by Crossen and Rhemann, you can find a couple of pages of detailed info about NGC 6231 and its associated broader concentration of stars known as Scorpius OB1.
I might abstract some of this info for IIS forum.

The total luminosity of NGC 6231 is comparable to that of Omega Centauri (!!), and the overall concentration of stars (cluster plus association) is a major tracer of the nearby spiral arm, that we see edge-on ; the arm runs from Sagittarius to Carina.
Oddly, this spiral arm is currently rather quiescent between Norma and Crux, with only a few major nebular complexes seen in this part of the Milky way, and these few nebulae are not very bright; there are not a lot of clusters of hot young stars that cause the interstellar medium to glow, in this part of the Milky Way.

You are certainly a mine of information Robert.

[marco (Marco Lorenzi)]

Very nice Steve, by coincidence I have also almost completed the processing of an image I took of a small part of this complex, certainly it is a very interesting area not so often imaged by ameturs. Your shot render it at full glory

Clear skies
Marco

[Leonardo70 (Leonardo Orazi)]

Congratulations Steve, this is a really great image.

All the best,
Leo

[Stevec35 (Steve)]

Originally Posted by Leonardo70

Congratulations Steve, this is a really great image.

All the best,
Leo

Thanks Leo

Originally Posted by marco

Very nice Steve, by coincidence I have also almost completed the processing of an image I took of a small part of this complex, certainly it is a very interesting area not so often imaged by ameturs. Your shot render it at full glory

Clear skies
Marco

Thanks Marco. I think many amateurs are ignorant as to what's there. The whole area is full of Ha.

[Ric]

Congrats Steve for your "Image of the Week"

It's a great image of a fascinating area of the nightsky.

Cheers

[madbadgalaxyman (Robert)]

Originally Posted by Stevec35

You are certainly a mine of information Robert.

Yeah, I can be a bit of a "know it all", but I do try not to rub it in, and hopefully my comments are relevant....

I have got very interested in this issue of why it is that NGC6231, which is at a (rather uncertain) distance of some 5000-6500 light years, and which is so remarkably luminous that it is a bright object in amateur telescopes despite its considerable distance, seems to be just about the only such "young & luminous, very OB-star rich" cluster in the Milky Way between Scorpius and Circinus. Of course, there must once have been a massive "Eta Carinae -like" nebula surrounding the cluster, which was energized by the stars of the cluster, but it would have been quickly dissipated by the energy output from the cluster stars.
The dark clouds that make up the "Emu" in this part of the Milky Way are giant clouds of molecular gas, with some dust admixed......so I do wonder if these dusty clouds are hiding any objects like NGC 6231?

I think I better move any further discussion of this object to the science forum!!

[Stevec35 (Steve)]

Originally Posted by madbadgalaxyman

Yeah, I can be a bit of a "know it all", but I do try not to rub it in, and hopefully my comments are relevant....

I have got very interested in this issue of why it is that NGC6231, which is at a (rather uncertain) distance of some 5000-6500 light years, and which is so remarkably luminous that it is a bright object in amateur telescopes despite its considerable distance, seems to be just about the only such "young & luminous, very OB-star rich" cluster in the Milky Way between Scorpius and Circinus. Of course, there must once have been a massive "Eta Carinae -like" nebula surrounding the cluster, which was energized by the stars of the cluster, but it would have been quickly dissipated by the energy output from the cluster stars.
The dark clouds that make up the "Emu" in this part of the Milky Way are giant clouds of molecular gas, with some dust admixed......so I do wonder if these dusty clouds are hiding any objects like NGC 6231?

I think I better move any further discussion of this object to the science forum!!

I enjoy your comments Robert so no need to move as far as I'm concerned

Originally Posted by Ric

Congrats Steve for your "Image of the Week"

It's a great image of a fascinating area of the nightsky.

Cheers

Thanks Ric

[LightningNZ (Cam)]

Congrats on a beautiful image Steve. Definitely my favourite of all I've seen of this cluster.

Where do you do your imaging from? One day I'll have a car and will escape these Belconnen lights.

Cheers,
Cam

[madbadgalaxyman (Robert)]

Mad Galaxy Man wrote:
" I have got very interested in this issue of why it is that NGC6231, which is at a (rather uncertain) distance of some 5000-6500 light years, and which is so remarkably luminous that it is a bright object in amateur telescopes despite its considerable distance, seems to be just about the only such "young & luminous, very OB-star rich" cluster in the Milky Way between Scorpius and Circinus."

I just blew $90 on a recent book, so as to better understand these issues regarding star formation regions, star clusters, and nebulae, in the southern Milky Way!!
The book is called "Handbook of Star Forming Regions : Volume II, The Southern Sky", edited by B. Reipurth(published in 2008)

This isn't going to be an easy read, as it is an 890 page professional monograph, but I just love digging up these kinds of details!
(For many years now, I have only studied galaxies external to the Milky Way, but I once did spend some years as an enthusiastic student of Milky Way structure.)

[Stevec35 (Steve)]

Originally Posted by LightningNZ

Congrats on a beautiful image Steve. Definitely my favourite of all I've seen of this cluster.

Where do you do your imaging from? One day I'll have a car and will escape these Belconnen lights.

Cheers,
Cam

Thanks Cam. I just image from my backyard observatory in Theodore. Not perfect but the lights don't seem too bad.

[bloodhound31]

Always a fan of your work mate. I'm sure I will be studying your work again when I finish the obs and get back into it.

Lovely work.

Baz.

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

Another beauty Steve!

Just a wee bit too saturated for my taste ... but I respect yours!

Cheers, Marcus