                        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.

                                2024 June 19
   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: Carlos Taylor

   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. This impressively detailed image spans over 2 degrees
   (four full Moons), corresponding to over 150 light years at the
   estimated distance of NGC 6188.

                      Tomorrow's picture: open solstice
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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