NGC 6188 and Gum 52 (Gary Imm)

NGC 6188 and Gum 52

This emission region is located 4000 light years away in the southern constellation of Ara at a declination of -49 degrees. This object has numerous nicknames, including the Rim Nebula, the Shaking Hands Nebula, and my favorite DSO nickname, the Dragons of Ara (turn your head left to see it, just below center).

This is a tough capture for me from the northern hemisphere, transiting at 11 degrees above the southern horizon. But I had to try, since it is one of my favorite objects.

Like familiar objects such as the Eagle Nebula and the Cygnus Wall, this object features a large dust cloud that has been eroded into numerous billowing pillars by stellar winds, silhouetted against the emission nebula. The nebula is powered by the open star cluster NGC 6193, located just below and left of center.

Seen on the right side of the image is the beautiful Gum 52 nebula. This object, also known as RCW 107, is an emission nebula located 3700 light years away in the constellation of Norma. This nebula spans 7 arc-minutes in our apparent view, which corresponds to an actual diameter of 7 light years. The bright white central star is clearly visible. This is a rare star type (type O6.5f, one of only 5 known) and is a massive hot bi-polar star. The resulting nebula is an emission region and not a planetary nebula. I love the intricate details of the nebula, as well as the bright areas at each end. As shown in the mouseover, the bottom bright region of the nebula is known NGC 6164 and the top bright region is known as NGC 6165. Also, note the faint blue gas fronts much further away from the central star.

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Emission (Full NB) Nebulae

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	8030223
PixInsight job	8NUY2R00RWKEN23JA24XD0DSCE8EHRYC
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	16h39m44s.69
RA (top/left)	16h49m43s.10
RA (top/right)	16h30m08s.98
RA (bottom/right)	16h29m20s.85
RA (bottom/left)	16h49m47s.33

Dec (center)	-48°22′32″.8
Dec (top/left)	-47°16′55″.0
Dec (top/right)	-47°11′18″.6
Dec (bottom/right)	-49°24′52″.7
Dec (bottom/left)	-49°30′58″.3

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