Object Information                                            Imaging Details

IC4603 is a faint reflection nebula - part of the nebula complex known as Rho Ophiuchi. Starlight is reflected from interstellar gas and fine particles of dust much as Sunlight is reflected through the Earth's atmosphere. The resulting sky blue color can be seen in images of numerous reflection nebula. The nebulosity surrounding the Pleiades (M45) is one of the better known examples.

Reflection nebula are usually quite a bit dimmer than the glowing red light that comes from emission nebula. IC4603 is not visible through most telescopes (except perhaps for some really large ones)

This object was imaged from the 2010 Texas Star party.

Clicking the above image will bring up a higher resolution image and a much larger field of view.

Telescope:

Celestron NexStar 11" OTA