NGC 6188
NGC 6188 is a emission nebula in the constellation Ara. It is about 600 light-years across that lies at a distance of 4,000 light-years.
The bright open cluster NGC 6193, visible to the naked eye, is responsible for a region of bright nebulosity within NGC 6188. It is found near the edge of a large and otherwise dark molecular cloud. Born in that region only a few million years ago, the massive young stars of the embedded Ara OB1 association sculpt the fantastic shapes and power 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 image captures NGC 6188 through a Hydrogen Alpha filter.
Technical Details
- Object: NGC 6188
- Other Names: Fighting Dragons of Ara
- Object Type: emission nebula
- Object Data: Angular Size = 20 x 12 arc-minutes
- Object Position (Equinox 2000): 16h 40m, -48° 47´, Constellation = Ara
- Date: 2021 Mar 25-28 (4 nights)
- Location: Chile Remote Observatory, Observatorio El Sauce, Chile
- Partnership: Operated in partnership with David Churchill
- Telescope: Planewave CDK-17 (with Focal Reducer: f/4.5; FL = 1945mm)
- Camera: QHY 16200A with Integral 7-position Filter Wheel
- Mount: Astro-Physics 1600GTO
- Guider: Agena Starguide II / SBIG STi
- Sub-Exposures: Astronomik Filters
- H-Alpha (6nm):80 x 10 min = 800 min - Total Exposure: 13h 20m
- File Name: NGC6188-CDK21Ha-C01w.jpg
- Field of View: 38.9' x 58.3' at 0.64 arc-sec/pixel
- Original Image Size: 3630 x 4540 pixels (16.5 MP); 12.1" x 15.1" @ 300 dpi
- Data Acquisition: David Churchill
- Image Processing: Fred Espenak
- Maxim DL: Image Calibration, Stacking, Digital Development Processing
- Adobe Camera Raw: Noise Reduction
- Photoshop CC: Curves, Levels
- Topaz Labs: Sharpen AI - Copyright: Fred Espenak