Fighting Dragons Nebula, 2024

Inspiration The Fighting Dragons of Ara is in fact probably one of the best nicknames given to any deep-sky astronomical object. NGC 6188 – to give it its formal designation – is an emission nebula in the constellation Ara about 4,000 lightyears ...

Inspiration The Fighting Dragons of Ara is in fact probably one of the best nicknames given to any deep-sky astronomical object. NGC 6188 – to give it its formal designation – is an emission nebula in the constellation Ara about 4,000 lightyears away. It can be seen in the Southern Hemisphere sky. NGC 6188 is an active star-forming region, and newborn stellar giants carve out the incredible shapes seen in the dark cosmic dust, and cause surrounding gas to glow by blasting it with streams of charged particles known as stellar winds. NGC 6188 is about 600 lightyears across, and its nickname is undoubtedly a result of astronomers observing the nebula and seeing two dragons facing off within the twists and curls of the dark dust. BBC Sky at Night