This 30-panel, 180-hour mosaic unifies some of the most dynamic and colorful regions of the summer sky, stretching from the Blue Horsehead Nebula through the Rho Ophiuchi complex and down into the reflection structures of SH2-1 and SH2-7. The field is a tapestry of competing processes: brilliant blue reflection nebulae sculpted by starlight, deep red hydrogen clouds marking active star birth, and golden dust lanes drifting across the frame like smoke illuminated from within. The mosaic’s immense depth reveals not only the well-known features but also the faint cirrus and transitional dust structures that connect them, showing how these regions belong to the same vast, evolving molecular environment.

The wide coverage and long integration time help preserve subtle color gradients across the complex. In the north, the Blue Horsehead arcs in reflective blue, its contours shaped by the illumination of nearby bright stars. At the core, Rho Ophiuchi blazes with an unusual mix of reflection, emission, and dense shadowed dust. Southward, SH2-1 and SH2-7 unfold in softer tones, their structures hinting at older, more diffuse stages of stellar evolution. This mosaic brings together these diverse environments into a single coherent scene, revealing the full interconnectedness of one of the sky’s most photogenic and scientifically rich regions.

Image Description and Details :

Capture of images in the rural area of Monte Belo-MG - 32x5min on July 16, 2016 and in the rural area of São Romão-MG - 24x5min on July 13, 2018 with the Sigma 150mm Apo Macro DG-HSM F / 2.8 lens in F / 4 and Canon 5D Mark II camera - ISO 1600 - built-in piggy-back darks, flats and bias on the GSO RC 8 "telescope and NEQ6-pro mount.

Copyright Information: Irineu Felippe de Abreu Filho