Sharpless 1 Nebula in Scorpius with Blue Star Named "Fang": Wide-field view

Sharpless 1 Nebula in Scorpius with Blue Star Named "Fang": Wide-field view

Sh 2-1, also known as Sharpless 1, is the combination of a diffuse HII emission nebula and reflection nebula in the constellation of Scorpius with the blue star Fang (or Pi Scorpii) at its center (see lower half of image). Located around 600 light-years away, Sharpless 1 is one of the easier Sharpless catalog objects for amateur astronomers to view within our Milky Way galaxy.

Fang, also known as Pi Scorpii is a main sequence star located in the constellation of Scorpius, The Scorpion. Based on the spectral type (B1V + B2V), Fang is blue in color. This means that the star is one of the hottest stars in the Universe, exceeding our own star. Fang's temperature is in the range of 10,000 to 30,000 Kelvin.

Fang is clearly visible to the naked eye when observed from locations with dark skies, and should also be visible from light polluted areas.

Fang is an eclipsing binary variable star. Variable stars are stars whose size and/or brightness changes over time. 

Image details:
60-second frame and 240-second frame on a starless frame
Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-130ED, F3 Reducer 0.6x, IDAS Clear Filter, and EOS R-SP4II, modified by Seo San on ZWO AM5n Equatorial Mount, autoguided with Fujinon 1:2.8/75mm C-Mount Lens, Pentax x2 Extender, ZWO ASI 174MM-mini, and PHD2 Guiding
Exposure: 27 times x 600 seconds, 18 x 240 sec, and 25 x 60 seconds at ISO 1,600 and f/3.0, focal length 390mm 
Capture site: 2,560m above sea level at latitude 24 23 21 South and long. 70 12 01 West near the peak of Cerro Ventarrones in Chile, South America 

The Sharpless catalog is a list of 313 H II regions (emission nebulae) intended to be comprehensive north of declination −27°. (It does include some nebulae south of that declination as well.) The first edition was published in 1953 with 142 objects (Sh1), and the second and final version was published by US astronomer Stewart Sharpless in 1959 with 312 objects. Sharpless also includes some planetary nebulae and supernova remnants, in addition to H II regions.

Image Credit: Hisayoshi Kato
Image Date: April 29, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #Sh21 #Sharpless1 #ReflectionNebula #HIIEmissionNebula #Star #PiScorpii #Fang #VariableStars #Scorpius #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #Astrophotography #HisayoshiKato #Astrophotographer #CerroVentarrones #Chile #STEM #Education