Wallpaper author:
Michelle Ashford
16 Oct 2024
The Dragon's Egg
NGC 6165/6164 are the two lobes of an emission nebula situated in the constellation of Norma approx. 4200 light years from Earth. It is commonly referred to as the Dragon’s Egg Nebula due to its proximity to NGC 6188 - known as the Fighting Dragons of Ara.
The nebula is a cloud of dust and gas surrounding a pair of stars called HD 148937.
In a recent study astronomers have shown that this was most likely a three star system until two of them clashed and merged, creating a new, larger and magnetic star. This violent event also created the spectacular nebula that now surround the remaining stars.
Dataset from which the image was processed
NGC 6164
18 credit
- Type of target............................................................................................................................Emission Nebula
- Camera............................................................................................................................FLI ProLine PL9000
- Target coordinates............................................................................................................................RA 248.4683 Dec -48.11124
- Hemisphere............................................................................................................................Southern
- Telescope location............................................................................................................................Chile
- Transient event............................................................................................................................No
- Observed on............................................................................................................................28 Jul 2021 - 17 Apr 2022
Filter | Avg Exp (s) | Total Exposure | Subframes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SII | 600 | 8h20m | 50 |
| Halpha | 600 | 8h20m | 50 |
| OIII | 600 | 8h20m | 50 |