Starship Asterisk*

NGC 6334: The Cat's Paw Nebula

Explanation: Nebulas are perhaps as famous for being identified with familiar shapes as perhaps cats are for getting into trouble. Still, no known cat could have created the vast Cat's Paw Nebula visible toward the constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius. At 5,500 light years distant, Cat's Paw is an emission nebula with a red color that originates from an abundance of ionized hydrogen atoms. Alternatively known as the Bear Claw Nebula and cataloged as NGC 6334, stars nearly ten times the mass of our Sun have been born there in only the past few million years. Pictured here is a deep field image of the Cat's Paw Nebula in light emitted by hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur.

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ESO wrote:

This comparison shows the area around the Lobster and Cat’s Paw nebulae observed at different wavelengths.

Top panel: submillimetre wavelengths seen by APEX.

Middle panel: near-infrared wavelengths seen by ESO’s VISTA infrared survey telescope; note that regions appearing as dark dust tendrils here show up brightly in the APEX view above.

Bottom panel: visible light as seen by the VST, where most of the stars are hidden from view by dusty structures.

Ann

Today's APOD! The cat's Meow! Oh Sh##; I got caught!

I can't resist...

johnnydeep wrote: ↑Tue May 10, 2022 9:30 pm I can't resist...

Click to view full size image

That's adorable, Johnny! A smiley face drawn on a cat's paw pad turns the paw into a teddy bear sunken into a shaggy rug!

Ann