Sharpless 2-1 - Starcatcher

Sharpless 1 (Sh2-1), the first entry in Stewart Sharpless’s catalogue of HII emission regions, lies approximately 650 light years away in the Scorpius Constellation. The bright central star, Pi Scorpii (π Scorpii), is actually a triple-star system that is 60 light years closer to us. Sh2-1 comprises faint red emission regions (heated and ionized by internal stars) as well as more bluish reflection regions lit up by nearby hot stars.

This was a very tough one for me because it only reaches an apex of 29 degrees at Deep Sky West. That really limited the amount of integration time I could get with it. Hopefully, I got enough to produce a pleasing and informative picture.

My friend Joel really liked this image and thought he saw a person grabbing a star. He drew this overlay on it, which made me smile:

 My wife Christi came up with the name “Starcatcher,” which I think is really appropriate. Someday, I hope to have some rigs down south where I can get a much better look at this guy and the many gorgeous objects that surround it.