SCORPIUS


30 minutes exposure, Fuji Super G 400 wide format film. 120mm f/2.8 Minolta lens.


30 minutes exposure, Agfa HDC 400 film. 100mm f/2.8 Mimya lens.
During the exposure some slight dewing of the camera lens occured, giving the stars a somewhat misty look.

The northern region of Scorpius. The bright star near the centre is the red supergiant Antares. Surrounding Antares is the complex region of bright and dark nebulosity surrounding the star rho ophiuchi.


30 minutes exposure, Fuji Super G 400 wide format film. 120mm f/2.8 Minolta lens.


30 minutes exposure, Fuji Super G 400 wide format film. 120mm f/2.8 Minolta lens.

The southern region of Scorpius and western Sagittarius. For Milky Way observers, this is the most spectacular region of the sky. To observe this region close to the zenith from a really dark location is unforgetable!

Scorpius is one of the most magnificent constellations in the sky. It contains many bright stars and it is situated in a very rich portion of the Milky Way. The fish-hook shaped curve of bright stars that form the tail and sting of the scorpion is one of the easiest sights in the sky to recognise. Scorpius contains a wide range of objects of all types, including many beautiful open clusters, bright globular clusters, numerous planetary nebula, several large and bright emission nebulae, and several large dark nebulae. It makes a wonderful counterpart to Orion, and from Australia makes a magnificent sight during the winter nights when it culminates directly overhead. To explore all of its wonders takes many nights of observing. Just a few of the better objects in this region are listed in the table below.


30 minutes exposure, AGFA HDC 400 film. 35mm f/2.8 Canon lens.

Number Name R.A. Dec
1 Antares
alpha scorpii
16 29.4 -26 26
2 M4 16 23.5 -26 32 Image
3 M80 16 17.0 -22 59 Image
4 M62 17 01.2 -30 07 Image
5 M19 17 02.6 -26 16 Image
6 NGC 6231 16 54.0 -41 47 Image
7 Shula
lamda scorpii
17 33.6 -37 06
8 M7 17 53.9 -34 47 Image
9 M6 17 40.4 -32 14 Image
10 NGC 6188 16 41.2 -48 45 Image
11 NGC 6067 16 13.2 -54 11 Image
12 Pipe Nebula 17 33 -26 00 Image
13 NGC 6388 17 36.3 -44 44 Image
14 NGC 6441 17 50.2 -37 06 Image
15 NGC 6334
The Catspaw nebula
17 19.9 -35 50 Image
16 NGC 6357 17 24.9 -34 12 Image
17 NGC 6302
The Bug nebula
17 13.7 -37 06 Image
18 Snake Nebula 17 23.5 -23 38 Image
19 M8
The Lagoon nebula
18 03.8 -24 23 Image
20 M20
The Trifid nebula
18 02.4 -22 59 Image
21 NGC 6397 17 40.7 -53 40 Image
22 M28 18 24.5 -24 52 Image
23 M22 18 36.4 -23 54 Image
24 M24
The Sagittarius Star Cloud
18 18 -18 24
25 rho ophiuchi 16 25 -23 28 Image


30 minutes exposure, Fuji Super G 400 wide format film. 100mm f/2.8 Mimya lens.


30 minutes exposure, Fuji Super G 400 wide format film. 120mm f/2.8 Minolta lens.


30 minutes exposure, Fuji Super G 400 wide format film. 120mm f/2.8 Minolta lens.


30 minutes exposure, Fuji Super G 400 wide format film. 100mm f/2.8 Mimya lens.

This photograph of Scorpius shows what can happen when you leave a camera unattended during an exposure. While I was inside the dome dew settled on the camera outside! The very bright object is the planet Jupiter.


40 minutes exposure, Agfa HDC 400 wide format film. 120mm f/2.8 Minolta lens.


20 minutes exposure, Agfa HDC 400 wide format film. 120mm f/2.8 Minolta lens.

The bright object in the upper left corner is Jupiter.


45 minutes exposure, Kodak Ektachrome 200 slide film. 135mm f/3.5 Tamron lens.

The tail of the Scoprion, one of the more fascinating areas of the sky with any telescope!


45 minutes exposure, Kodak Ektachrome 200 slide film. 135mm f/3.5 Tamron lens.


60 minutes exposure, Ektachrome 200 slide film. 50mm f/2 Olympus lens.


60 minutes exposure, Ektachrome 200 slide film. 85mm f/2 Canon lens.

Close to the bright star Antares, is a very complex region of emission, reflection, and dark nebulae. Although very difficult to observe visuaally, they stand out well in photographs. The very bright "star" is the planet Jupiter.


30 minutes exposure, Ektachrome 200 slide film. 135mm f/3.5 Tamron lens.


40 minutes exposure, Ektachrome 200 slide film. 300mm f/2.8 Canon lens.


45 minutes exposure, Ektachrome 200 slide film. 300mm f/2.8 Canon lens.


3 minutes exposure. Modified Canon 350D DSLR camera 55mm f/3.5 lens.


5 minutes exposure. Modified Canon 350D DSLR camera 55mm f/3.5 lens.


2 minutes exposure. Modified Canon 350D DSLR camera 135mm Tamron f/3.5 lens.


30 minutes exposure, Ektachrome 200 slide film. 85mm f/2 Canon lens.


45 minutes exposure, Provia 400 slide film. 135mm f/3.5 Tamron lens.


45 minutes exposure, Provia 400 slide film. 135mm f/3.5 Tamron lens.


5 minutes exposure. Modified Canon 350D DSLR camera 55mm f/3.5 lens.


5 minutes exposure. Modified Canon 350D DSLR camera 55mm f/5.6 lens.


5 minutes exposure. Modified Canon 350D DSLR camera 55mm f//3.5 lens.


5 minutes exposure. Modified Canon 350D DSLR camera 55mm f//3.5 lens.


5 minutes exposure. Canon 350D DSLR camera 55mm f//3.5 lens.