NGC 6164/6165




About this image.

Emission nebula NGC 6164-5 is a rectangular, bipolar cloud with rounded corners and a diagonal bar producing an inverted S-shaped appearance. It lies about  4,200 light-years away in the constellation Norma. The nebula measures about 4.2 light-years across, and contains gases ejected by the star HD 148937 (6.8 magnitude) at its heart. This star is 40 times more massive than the Sun, and at about three to four million years of age, is past the middle of its life span. Stars this massive usually live to be only about six million years old, so HD 148397 is aging fast. It will likely end its life in a violent supernova explosion.

Like other O-type stars, HD148937 is heating up its surrounding clouds of gas with ultraviolet radiation. This causes them to glow in visible light, illuminating swirls and caverns in the cloud that have  been sculpted by winds from the star. Some astronomers suggest that the cloud of material has been ejected from the star as it spins on its axis, in much the same way a rotating lawn sprinkler shoots out water as it spins. It's also possible that magnetic fields surrounding the star may play a role in creating the complex shapes clearly seen in the new Gemini image.

The central star, known as a Luminous blue variable, are very massive, unstable stars advanced in their evolution. Many have nitrogen-rich nebulae that are arrayed symmetrically around the stars, similar to what we see in NGC 6164-5. 

Its dual NGC entry refers to the nebulas two brightest crescents, discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1834 while observing from the Cape of Good Hope in Africa   NGC 6164 lies immediately northwest of the central star, while NGC 6165 lies immediately southeast of it.  The two crescents are formed as this rotating star throws of energetic gases from its intense UV light. 
 

    2930 x 1924                              

Equipment

Telescope:                 12.5" Ritchey Chretien by RC Optical Systems
Mount:                      Paramount ME by Software Bisque
Instrument:               STL11000M CCD Camera by SBIG, AO-L

Exposure:                  This is an HARGB Image of exposures 540:60:60:60
Capture Software:       CCDSOFT V5, CCDAutopilot
Processing:                Maxim DL/CCD, Photoshop CS, CCDSharp 

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