Zeta Ophiuchi & the Bow Shock + Giacomo Pro + L-Para (L-Parallels)

Zeta Ophiuchi & the Bow Shock

Credit: Giacomo Pro

Filters: Optolong L-Para (L-Parallels)

 

 

 

Zeta Ophiuchi & the Bow Shock
Zeta Ophiuchi is the third brightest star in the constellation Ophiuchus; with an apparent magnitude of +2.54, it is a blue main-sequence star located 440 light-years from Earth, with a mass 20 times that of the Sun.
Like other stars of its class, it ejects large quantities of material via stellar winds at a speed of 1,600 km/s. Some of this interstellar material is ionised by the star’s radiation, forming the emission nebula Sh2-27.
Zeta Ophiuchi is a star with a complex past, likely ejected from its birthplace by a powerful stellar explosion.
Previous observations have shown that Zeta Ophiuchi was once in a close orbit with another star, before being ejected at around 160,000 kilometres per hour when this companion was destroyed by a supernova explosion over a million years ago.
Zeta Ophiuchi’s escape produces a kind of shock wave known as a bow shock, caused by the powerful stellar wind ahead of it, which compresses and heats the dusty interstellar material, shaping the compression wave.

 

 

 

Exposure: 225 x 300 seconds
Filter: Optolong Astronomy Filter L-Para
Camera: ASI 294 MC Pro
Telescope: Sky-Watcher 200/1000 PDS
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ 6-R Pro
Acquisition: Asiair Plus
Software: DSS - Pixinsight – Photoshop
Shots: 14-16-17-20 May 2026
Location: Torricella (TA) ITALY
Sky SQM: 19.9

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