A Scorpius Mosaic
in Hydrogen Alpha Light
Description
This 3-panel mosaic depicts the region near the stinger of the constellation of Scorpius. In the sky, this region lies close to where we would observe the galactic center, and our perspective here shows the extensive nebulosity that lies within the galactic plane. The two prominent objects here are Cat's Paw Nebula (NGC 6334, top) and War and Peace Nebula (NGC 6357, bottom). This image was shot through hydrogen alpha filters, which highlights regions where ionised hydrogen is present. Ionised hydrogen usually correlates with high star formation activity, which is observed within these dense clouds of star-forming material.
Imaging Details
Location: Singapore
Date(s): July 2016 and July 2017
Telescope: Takahashi FSQ85ED at f/5.3 (top and bottom panel) and f/3.9 (central panel)
Camera: SBIG ST8300M
Mount: Losmandy G11/G2
Exposure (top to bottom): Panel 1 - 165 minutes, Panel 2 - 80 minutes, Panel 3 - 80 minutes
Image reduction, integration and processing with Astro Pixel Processor and Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight.