Astronomy Picture of the Day: 10/9/13 - Wide-field View of Rho Ophiuchus Region

This beautiful image, created by astrophotographer Rogelio Bernal Andreo, contains not one, but three celestial regions -- as seen in a wide-field view.

The first of which, is the Rho Ophiuchus – Antares region (the colorful area in the upper right), which is home to a binary star system, with Antares (in yellow) and ρ Ophiuchi (in blue). Also contained wherein are the Blue Horsehead nebula (also known as IC 4592 -- not to be confused with the Horsehead nebula in the Orion Molecular Cloud) and Sharpless 1 (or Sh 2-1). All of this area is located about 400 light-years from Earth (in the constellation of Ophiuchus).

You can also see M4, a cluster of stars that lie between Antares and the reddish-emission nebula in addition to a few more small nebulae.

References, sources, and further reading can be found here: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomy-picture-of-the-day-10913-wide-field-view-of-rho-ophiuchus-region/