﻿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]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. 2024 June 19 [2]Gas and dust are shown in a deep starfield. The gas glows blue and red, while the dark dust is connected in filaments across the image. To some, the filaments appear to have the shape of two dragons fighting. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. NGC 6188: Dragons of Ara Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Carlos Taylor Explanation: Do dragons fight on the altar of the sky? Although it might appear that way, these dragons are [4]illusions made of thin gas and dust. The [5]emission nebula NGC 6188, home to the glowing clouds, is found about 4,000 [6]light years away near the edge of a large molecular cloud, unseen at visible wavelengths, in the southern [7]constellation Ara (the Altar). Massive, young [8]stars of the embedded Ara [9]OB1 association were formed in that region only a few million years ago, [10]sculpting the dark shapes and powering the nebular glow with stellar winds and intense [11]ultraviolet radiation. The recent [12]star formation itself was likely triggered by winds and supernova explosions from previous generations of massive [13]stars, that swept up and compressed the molecular gas. This [14]impressively detailed [15]image spans over 2 degrees (four full Moons), corresponding to over 150 light years at the estimated distance [16]of NGC 6188. Tomorrow's picture: open solstice __________________________________________________________________ [17]< | [18]Archive | [19]Submissions | [20]Index | [21]Search | [22]Calendar | [23]RSS | [24]Education | [25]About APOD | [26]Discuss | [27]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [28]Robert Nemiroff ([29]MTU) & [30]Jerry Bonnell ([31]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [32]Specific rights apply. [33]NASA Web Privacy, [34]Accessibility, [35]Notices; A service of: [36]ASD at [37]NASA / [38]GSFC, [39]NASA Science Activation & [40]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2406/AraDragons_Taylor_4728.jpg 3. https://www.astrobin.com/users/CAPastrophotography/ 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emission_nebula 6. https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/what-is-a-light-year/ 7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ara_(constellation) 8. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011A&A...531A..73B/abstract 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_association#Stellar_associations 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080313.html 11. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/10_ultravioletwaves 12. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/ 13. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/search/stars/ 14. https://cdn.petcarerx.com/blog/wp-content-uploads-2015-07-surprise-dog.jpg 15. https://www.astrobin.com/ofcovc/C/ 16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn9mZpAcbF8 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240618.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 21. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 23. https://apod.com/feed.rss 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 26. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240619 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240620.html 28. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 30. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 31. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 33. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 34. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 35. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 36. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 37. https://www.nasa.gov/ 38. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 39. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 40. http://www.mtu.edu/