APOD: 2022 December 26 - NGC 6164: Dragons Egg Nebula and Halo

Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the December 26th Boxing Day edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "NGC 6164: Dragons Egg Nebula and Halo." The Dragon's Egg is found in the southern constellation Norma (Carpenter's Square) about 4,200 light years from Earth. At first glance I thought 'Wolf-Rayet' star (like other planetary nebulae), but that is not the case here. Stars are classified by their color and luminosity. The Dragon's Egg Nebula and its halo are formed by an O-type star: a blue, hot (~40,000K), bright (> 100X our Sun), and strong spectral Helium-II absorption lines.

From the photographer's notes, we learn that this is a composite image based on 28 hours of exposure time. Filters for sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen were used. Check out the APOD from June 7th (this year) if you'd like to see the Dragon's Egg in relationship to the Fighting Dragons of Ara.