SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
Hal Heaton
Location of Photo:
Skygems, Gamsberg Mountains, Namibia
Date/Time of photo:
July 9-11, October 2 and 4, 2024
Equipment:
Takahashi FSQ-106 refractor (106 mm aperture, f/5, unguided); Mooravian C3-61000 CMOS camera (unbinned, 300 sec eposures); Baader filters (R, G, B, Ha, OIII, with 20,20,20,25 and 60 min integrations, respectively)
Description:
This image of the Galactic plane region south of Scorpius shows the nested Dragon’s Egg Nebula (NGC 6164) at its midpoint, bordered at its top left by the Rim Nebula (NGC 6188) often called the Fighting Dragons of Ara. The star at the center of the Dragon’s Egg (HD 148937) is peculiar in that it is a double with one component showing strong magnetism. The bright blue star toward the bottom right of the image is epsilon Norma. The partial outer rim encasing the central nebula probably represents shocked gas expelled from those stars that has been swept up as it expanded outward into the broader doughnut-shaped region. Intricate filaments appear along the upper left and bottom edges of the doughnut at the transition to darker space beyond that is sprinkled with myriad colored stars.
