IC 4603 is a faint but complex blue reflection nebula in the constellation Ophiuchus, The Serpent Holder. It forms part of Rho Ophiuchus a prolific star forming nebula just north of bright Antares inhabiting one of the most beautiful and interesting regions of the sky. The nebula is part of the obscuring dust near the central part of our Milky Way and is illuminated by SAO 184376, the bright magnitude 7.9 star in the center of this image. Several Lynd’s dark dust nebulae occupy the region with small dark crescent LDN 1686 to the upper left of the central area. A rare yellow-orange cloud that extends to Antares is partially captured in the lower left side of this image.
I would happily have taken a longer exposure of this area but the onset of monsoon rains prevents me from doing so.
