Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2017 September 13
NGC 6334: The Cat's Paw Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: George Varouhakis
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 in
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 or
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.
Tomorrow's picture: open space
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (
MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (
UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman
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