                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2022 June 7

                          NGC 6188: Dragons of Ara
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Shaun Robertson

   Explanation: Do dragons fight on the altar of the sky? Although it
   might appear that way, these dragons are illusions made of thin gas and
   dust. The emission nebula NGC 6188, home to the glowing clouds, is
   found about 4,000 light years away near the edge of a large molecular
   cloud unseen at visible wavelengths, in the southern constellation Ara
   (the Altar). Massive, young stars of the embedded Ara OB1 association
   were formed in that region only a few million years ago, sculpting the
   dark shapes and powering the nebular glow with stellar winds and
   intense ultraviolet radiation. The recent star formation itself was
   likely triggered by winds and supernova explosions, from previous
   generations of massive stars, that swept up and compressed the
   molecular gas. Joining NGC 6188 on this cosmic canvas, visible toward
   the lower right, is rare emission nebula NGC 6164, also created by one
   of the region's massive O-type stars. Similar in appearance to many
   planetary nebulae, NGC 6164's striking, symmetric gaseous shroud and
   faint halo surround its bright central star near the bottom edge. This
   impressively wide field of view spans over 2 degrees (four full Moons),
   corresponding to over 150 light years at the estimated distance of NGC
   6188.

                      Tomorrow's picture: ocean stripes
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

