AAO image reference AAT 27. « Previous || Next »
Top left is NE. Image width is about 23 arc min
Image and text © 1987-2002, Anglo-Australian Observatory, photograph by David Malin.
Very hot, massive stars lose substantial amounts of matter from their surfaces during much of their brief lives. Mass-loss is usually a fairly steady process but some stars occasionally develop instabilities and have major outbursts. This star has thrown off at least two distinct lots of material during its lifetime, the brightest and most recent being the bright lobes of NGC 6164-5 at the centre of the picture (see image AAT 21 ) while a much fainter rim of nebulosity can be seen at a considerable distance from the central star, indicating an earlier episode of violent ejection. The nebula is at a distance of about 4200 light years.
Entry from NGC 2000.0 (R.W. Sinnott, Ed.) © Sky Publishing Corporation, 1988:
NGC 6164 Pl 16 34.0 -48 06 r Nor eF (strongly susp), D* f nr NGC 6165 Pl 16 34.0 -48 06 r Nor F, cS, lE, vglbM, D* pRelated Image
AAT 21. The NGC 6164-65 nebula
For details of photographic exposure, search technical table by AAT reference number