Wallpaper author:
David Tonucci
27 Mar 2026
The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex
The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is one of the nearest active star-forming regions to Earth, located approximately 360 to 460 light-years away in the constellations Ophiuchus and Scorpius. It is a vibrant, colorful nebula containing over 300 young stellar objects with an average age of just 300,000 years. The region features a mix of dark, reflection, and emission nebulae.
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 |