Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2025 April 24
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                          NGC 6164: A Dragon's Egg
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Daniel Stern

   Explanation: Beautiful emission nebula NGC 6164 was created by a rare,
   hot, luminous [5]O-type star, some 40 times as massive as the Sun. Seen
   at the center of the cosmic cloud, the star is a mere 3 to 4 million
   years old. In another three to four million years the massive star will
   end its life in a [6]supernova explosion. Spanning around 4
   light-years, [7]the nebula itself has a bipolar symmetry. That makes it
   similar in appearance to more common and familiar [8]planetary nebulae
   - the gaseous shrouds [9]surrounding dying sun-like stars. Also like
   many planetary nebulae, NGC 6164 has been found to have an extensive,
   [10]faint halo, revealed in this deep image of the region. Expanding
   into the surrounding [11]interstellar medium, the material in the halo
   is likely from an earlier active phase of the O star. [12]This gorgeous
   telescopic view is a composite of extensive narrow-band image data,
   highlighting glowing atomic hydrogen gas in red and oxygen in greenish
   hues, with broad-band data for the surrounding starfield. Also known as
   the [13]Dragon's Egg nebula, NGC 6164 is 4,200 light-years away in the
   right-angled southern constellation [14]of Norma.

                     Tomorrow's picture: Lucy in the sky
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    Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([29]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [30]Specific rights apply.
              [31]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [32]ASD at [33]NASA / [34]GSFC,
                         [35]NASA Science Activation
                           & [36]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2504/NGC_6164_r4_2048.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.instagram.com/messierchaser/
   5. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/startype.html
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250108.html
   7. http://www.gemini.edu/node/188
   8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120831.html
  10. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1985PASP...97..780F&
  11. http://www-ssg.sr.unh.edu/ism/what1.html
  12. https://app.astrobin.com/u/dstern?i=rj65f5#gallery
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220607.html
  14. http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/nor/index.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250423.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  24. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250424
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250425.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  32. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  35. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  36. http://www.mtu.edu/