The complex region of NGC 6231 in the tail of Scorpius, with the brightest star cluster at lower right being NGC 6231 itself while the cluster at centre is NGC 6242. The nebula is IC 4628. The pair of bright stars at top are Mu 1 and 2 Scorpii. The colourful double star at bottom is Zeta 1 and 2 Scorpii. To the naked eye this area appears elongated and fuzzy, like a comet. It was mistaken for Comet Halley in 1986. This is a stack of 4 x 2-minute exposures with the 200mm lens at f/2.8 and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 2500. Tracked on the AP 400 mount.
The star cluster NGC 6231, called the False Comet Cluster, at left, with its associated nebulosity IC 4628, plus the cluster NGC 6242 above the nebula in rich starfields, contrasting with the large star cluster NGC 6124, at right, set amid the dark lanes of nebulosity. This is a stack of 4 x 3-minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 135mm telephoto lens and filter-modifed Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. Taken from Tibuc Cottage, April 14, 2016. Clouds moving in curtailed shooting this night.
A mosaic of the region in the tail of Scorpius from the False Comet Cluster (NGC 6231), at left in the starclouds in the tail of Scorpius, to what I call the Dark River Cluster, NGC 6214, at right, an open star cluster contrasting with lanes of dark nebulosity. This is a two-panel mosaic, each panel a 4 x 6-minute stack with the Borg 77mm astrograph at f/4 and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. Taken from Tibuc Cottage, Australia, April 11, 2016. Stacked and stitched in Photoshop CC 2015.
