The Cat's Paw remastered

The Cat’s Paw Nebula is revisited in a combination of exposures from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope and expert amateur astronomers Robert Gendler and Ryan M. Hannahoe. The distinctive shape of the nebula is revealed in reddish puffy clouds of glowing gas against a dark sky dotted with stars.

The image was made by combining existing observations from the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope of the La Silla Observatory in Chile (see ESO Photo Release eso1003) with 60 hours of exposures on a 0.4-metre telescope taken by Gendler and Hannahoe.

The resolution of the existing 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope observations was combined (by using their “luminance” or brightness) with the colour information from Gendler and Hannahoe’s observations to produce a beautiful combination of data from amateur and professional telescopes. For example, the additional colour information brings out the faint blue nebulosity in the central region, which is not seen in the original ESO image, while the ESO data contribute their finer detail. The result is an image that is much more than the sum of its parts.

The well-named Cat’s Paw Nebula (also known as NGC 6334) lies in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion). Although it appears close to the centre of the Milky Way on the sky, it is relatively near to Earth, at a distance of about 5500 light-years. It is about 50 light-years across and is one of the most active star formation regions in our galaxy, containing massive, young brilliant blue stars, which have formed in the last few million years. It is host to possibly tens of thousands of stars in total, some of them visible and others still hidden in the clouds of gas and dust.

Links

Credit:

ESO/R. Gendler & R.M. Hannahoe

About the Image

Id:potw1228a
Type:Observation
Release date:9 July 2012, 10:00
Size:7740 x 8040 px

About the Object

Name:Cat's Paw Nebula, NGC 6334
Type:Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation
Distance:5500 light years
Constellation:Scorpius
Category:Nebulae

Image Formats

Large JPEG
22.8 MB
Screensize JPEG
416.6 KB

Zoomable


Wallpapers

1024x768
401.8 KB
1280x1024
615.7 KB
1600x1200
857.4 KB
1920x1200
1000.4 KB
2048x1536
1.3 MB

Coordinates

Position (RA):17 20 8.94
Position (Dec):-35° 56' 51.90"
Field of view:30.68 x 31.87 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.0° left of vertical

Colours & filters

BandTelescope
Optical
B
Other
N/A
Optical
G
Other
N/A
Optical
H-alpha
Other
N/A
Optical
R
Other
N/A
Optical
R
MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
WFI
Optical
V
MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
WFI
Optical
B
MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
WFI
Optical
H-alpha
MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
WFI