RCW 106

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RCW 106 is a large star-forming nebula in the Norma constellation. It is an emission nebula and H II region embedded in a giant molecular cloud of about 100,000 solar masses, spanning roughly 28 by 94 parsecs. The nebula lies near the R103 OB association and is also catalogued as NGC 6188. The brightest parts are labeled RCW 106a and RCW 106b, but they aren’t actually separate objects. RCW 106 is about 4,000 light-years away, at coordinates Right Ascension 16h 19m 47s and Declination −51° 04′ 06″ (epoch J2000). It was photographed by the Wide Field Imager in 1999.