Wallpaper author:
Dominic Gareau
14 Dec 2025
RHO OPHIUCHI
A celebration of cosmic colour in one of the most vibrant regions of the night sky. The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex blends glowing dust, reflection nebulae, and vivid stellar light into a naturally festive palette of gold, blue, red, and violet. This image showcases the sweeping structures illuminated by Antares, Rho Ophiuchi, and nearby young stars, revealing intricate dust lanes and delicate gradients.
Dataset from which the image was processed
Rho Ophiuchi
17 credit
- Type of target............................................................................................................................Reflection Nebula
- Camera............................................................................................................................FLI PL16803
- Target coordinates............................................................................................................................RA 246.3963 Dec -24.94694
- Hemisphere............................................................................................................................Southern
- Telescope location............................................................................................................................Australia
- Transient event............................................................................................................................No
- Observed on............................................................................................................................12 Mar 2021 - 28 Aug 2021
Filter | Avg Exp (s) | Total Exposure | Subframes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luminance | 807 | 6h30m | 29 |
| Red | 786 | 6h20m | 29 |
| Green | 745 | 6h | 29 |
| Blue | 621 | 5h | 29 |
| Halpha | 21 | 10m | 28 |