SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
Oleg Shargorodsky
Location of Photo:
Rio Hurtado, Chile
Date/Time of photo:
June 20-30, 2025
Equipment:
Telescope: Astro-Physics Star130 ED Camera: QHYCCD QHY600 Pro M Mount: 10Micron GM1000 HPS Filters: Chroma Blue 50 mm Chroma Green 50 mm Chroma H-alpha 5nm Bandpass 50 mm Chroma Lum 50 mm Chroma OIII 5nm Bandpass 50 mm Chroma Red 50 mm Chroma SII 5nm Bandpass 50 mm
Description:
Fighting Dragons of Ara (NGC 6188) NGC 6188 is a vast emission nebula located about 4,000 light-years away in the constellation Ara, glowing from intense ultraviolet radiation produced by the massive young stars of the Ara OB1 association. NGC 6188 is often called the place where two cosmic dragons clash, their glowing bodies sculpted from hydrogen gas and dust by the fierce radiation of massive young stars. The dark, curling pillars look like serpentine heads rising toward a bright central cavity, as if battling over a luminous “egg”—the star-forming core where new suns are being born. These dragon-shaped forms aren’t fantasy, but the natural result of powerful stellar winds carving the surrounding molecular cloud into sharp ridges and claw-like structures.
