NGC 6188：天坛座的龙形云气

2022年6月7日

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

NGC 6188：天坛座的龙形云气
影像提供与版权: Shaun Robertson

说明: 天坛座发生了龙族大战吗？虽然乍看像是如此，但这些“龙”其实是气体和尘埃聚成的幻影 。这些明亮云气所属的发射星云NGC 6188，位在天坛座内一个黝黑庞大分子云的边缘，离我们约有4,000光年远。此星云嵌着刚在数百万年前形成的天坛座OB1星协之大质量年轻恒星，它们所散发的强烈紫外辐射和恒星风，除了雕塑出这些奇形云气之外，也激发星云内的云气发出辉光。这些近期的恒星形成活动，可能由先前世代的大质量恒星之恒星风和超新星爆炸，扫集和压缩分子云气所触发的。在这片宇宙视野里与NGC 6188为伴的，还有右下角较罕见、也是由此区的大质量Ｏ型星所激发出的发射星云NGC 6164。外观和许多行星状星云类似的NGC 6164，其醒目的对称云气包和暗淡的外晕，环拱着位在底缘附近的明亮中心星。这张视野极为宽广跨幅超过2度（4个满月）的影像，以NGC 6188的距离来换算，大约涵盖150多光年的区域。

明日的图片: ocean stripes