Infant Solar System in Ophiuchus

The image is a three-colour reproduction of the discovery image of strange-looking object (nicknamed the "Flying Saucer" by the astronomers), obtained with the SOFI multi-mode instrument at the ESO 3.5-m New Technology Telescope (NTT) at the La Silla Observatory. Compared to the unresolved stars in the field, the image of this object appears extended. Two characteristic reflection nebulae are barely visible, together with a marginally resolved dark dust lane in front of the star and oriented East-West.

This is a colour composite image combining exposures through near-infrared J-, H- and K S filters, here rendered as blue, green and red, respectively, and with logarithmic colour stretch obtained with NTT/SOFI. The field size shown here is 30 x 30 arcsec2 and the exposure time is 24 min in each of the three filters. The seeing was 0.7 arcsec FWHM, and the pixel size is 0.292 arcsec. North is up and East is left.

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:eso0214a
Type:Observation
Release date:7 May 2002
Related releases:eso0214
Size:800 x 798 px

About the Object

Name:Rho Ophiuchi
Type:Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Disk : Protoplanetary
Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Young Stellar Object
Distance:500 light years
Constellation:Ophiuchus
Category:Nebulae

Image Formats

Large JPEG
140.1 KB
Screensize JPEG
132.0 KB

Wallpapers

1024x768
145.4 KB
1280x1024
200.3 KB
1600x1200
247.5 KB
1920x1200
334.6 KB
2048x1536
432.8 KB

Coordinates

Position (RA):16 28 13.61
Position (Dec):-24° 31' 37.33"
Field of view:0.52 x 0.52 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.3° right of vertical

Colours & filters

BandTelescope
Infrared
J
New Technology Telescope
SOFI
Infrared
H
New Technology Telescope
SOFI
Infrared
K
New Technology Telescope
SOFI