As long as I can remember, I’ve looked up at the night sky and wondered what, or maybe even who, was out there. The twinkling stars call to me, pulling me and sparking my wonder. These days, as I am creating Milky Way photographs, my star wanderlust is always rekindled. But now, I have access to telescopes, and the Ara Dragons come to life through one of them.
NGC 6188, better known as the Dragons of Ara, is a stunning emission nebula. Its clouds of molecular dust seem to form two dragons. Perhaps they are fighting, or maybe they are dancing. Either way, it pulls me in.
Ara Dragons is a narrowband image, meaning I photographed bands of light that our human eyes cannot see. I created the initial photos by using hydrogen, oxygen, and silicon filters, then merged those into colors we can see. The stunning result is, well, simply stunning. This process is the same technique that NASA uses for the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope, and the final result is visually and scientifically accurate.
There is also another nebula in this photograph. NGC 6164 is photobombing the lower portion of the image. Known as the Dragon’s Egg Nebula, this is an O-type star approximately 40 times as massive as our sun. This star will become a supernova soon, perhaps in just a few million years, making this portion of the sky exceptionally interesting.
No matter where you look in the night sky, there is something fantastic to see. No matter how large or small your telescope is, there is always a new wonder to explore and see. Every time we make a discovery, it calls humanity outward to the stars, and hopefully, we never lose that desire.
Every time I look at Ara Dragons, I find something new. I hope you do, too!
More Ara Dragons
You can bring NGC 6188 home! You can also pick up this notebook, which is perfect for any type of notes and journaling. Never lose your sense of wonder with the night sky!