Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

NGC 6164: Dragon's Egg Nebula and Halo

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 26, 2022 is “NGC 6164: Dragon's Egg Nebula and Halo,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Russell Croman). The original explanation runs about 192 words.

The featured image shows a star inside a symmetric but complex and multi-colored nebula which is all surrounded by a faint blue nebula. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Russell Croman Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The star at the center created everything. Known as the Dragon’s Egg , this star — a rare, hot, luminous O-type star some 40 times as massive as the Sun — created not only the complex nebula ( NGC 6164 ) that immediately surrounds it, but also the encompassing blue halo.”

— APOD editors, December 26, 2022

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 26, 2022
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Russell Croman
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 192 words

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Topics in this entry

The SunNebulae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 26 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.