NGC 6188 “Fighting Dragons Nebula” (Imaging from two telescopes)
OTA: RCOS (14.5” f/8) TAO (150mm f/7.3)
Camera: SBIG STX-11002 w/ AO FLI ML16200
Observatory: Heavens Gate, Au Deep Sky W., Chile
EXPOSURES:
Red: 12 x 120” 16 x 900”
Blue: 12 x 120 16 x 900
Green: 8 x 120 8 x 900
Lum.: --- 16 x 900
Hydrogen: 17 x 1800 33 x 1800
Sulfur: 7 x 1800 20 x 1800
Oxygen: 7 x 1800 17 x 1800
Total exposure ~61.6 hours
Image Width: ~40 arcseconds

Processed by Alex Woronow (2019) using PixInsight, Matlab, SWT, and others

NGC 6188 is the red hydrogen emission nebula in this image. It lies about 4000 light-years from us. Above it a blue reflection nebula surrounds the open cluster NGC 6199, which is visible to the naked eye (if you are far enough South to see it). Strands of dark nebulae abound too.

The hues in this image are realistic. The Ha (hydrogen) was added to the red images, as was the SII (sulfur). Both green and blue images received equal amounts of the OIII (oxygen) emissions. This particular image combined data collected with two different telescopes, both in the S hemisphere. By combining all these data, a very long exposure has been synthesized. This length of exposure reveals details in the nebula that are not seen with shorter exposure times.

By the way, if you cannot find the “fighting dragons,” the reason is simple and interesting. If you had a low-resolution, rather blurry image of this same area, your mind might see the dragons, much as it does when you see a face in a cloud. However, with better resolution, and more depth of detail, the dragons melt into the turmoil that controls this molecular cloud.