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.