Clouds of Antares

Image data
Date	May 2025
Location	Fuente del Albarico (Andalusia)
Optics	Takahashi Epsilon 16 ED
Mount	Vixen SXD2
Camera	ASI 2600MM Pro
Filter	Baader RGB and Hα 3,5 nm
Exposure	R, G, B 1 h each, Lum 3,2 h, Hα 2,5 h
Center coordinates	Ra: 16:26:46 Decl: -26:13:02
Software - Image processing	THELI 2.10.5, PixInsight, BlurXTerminator, noiseXTerminator, starnet2, Imagesplus, PS CS4
Software - Image capture	Linux OS, indi, phd2
Notes

Click on the image for full resolution

Clouds of Antares

Antares, sometimes called the heart of Scorpio, is a red supergiant, with roughly 700 times the diameter of the sun. As a star in the final stages of its life cycle, Antares is expected to end its existence in a spectacular supernova explosion. Its redish light illuminates clouds of dust, shed by the dying star through powerful stellar winds as it nears the end of its life. While Antares is roughly 600 light-years away, the nearby globular cluster M4, one of the closest to earth, lies far behind in a distance of 5500 light-years.