During last year's astrophotography expedition to Namibia, I managed to capture the interesting open cluster NGC 6250, which is located in the southern constellation of Ara, near the border with Scorpius.
The richness of the frame, which is bisected by the boundary between the mentioned constellations, surprised me despite having done thorough research of the area while planning the session before departure. At the bottom of the frame, we can see the bright variable star RS Sco with a brightness of 10.3 mag and an intense yellow color. Additionally, in its vicinity, we can find two hydrogen regions from the RCW catalog - RCW 110 and 111.
The main subject, the open star cluster NGC 6250, was discovered by the English astronomer John Herschel on July 1, 1834. It spans an angular diameter of 18', and its distance from the Sun is approximately 2820 light-years. It is approaching us with an average radial velocity of -10±6 km/s. Its age is estimated at around 14 million years, which is relatively young compared to other similar clusters.
Another noteworthy object is the reflection nebula embedded in dark dust near the star HR 6303. Its catalog designation is GN 16.57.5. A superb capture of this object was presented by the excellent astrophotographer Wolfgang Promper, using a telescope with a focal length of 4200mm (
https://www.astrobin.com/7y76pg/?q=promper%20ngc%206250).
Comments