The Cat’s Paw and Lobster Nebulae

This spectacular image from the VLT Survey Telescope shows the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334, upper right) and the Lobster Nebula (NGC 6357, lower left). These dramatic objects are regions of active star formation where the hot young stars are causing the surrounding hydrogen gas to glow red. The very rich field of view also includes dark clouds of dust. With around two billion pixels this is one of the largest images ever released by ESO. A zoomable version of this giant image is available here.

Note that the circular features in the image around bright stars are not real, they are due to reflections within the optics of the telescope and camera.

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:eso1705a
Type:Observation
Release date:1 February 2017, 12:00
Related releases:eso1705
Size:49511 x 39114 px

About the Object

Name:Cat's Paw Nebula, Lobster Nebula
Type:Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Emission : H II Region
Constellation:Scorpius
Category:Nebulae

Image Formats

Screensize JPEG
442.9 KB

Zoomable


Wallpapers

1024x768
426.7 KB
1280x1024
651.8 KB
1600x1200
895.5 KB
1920x1200
1018.3 KB
2048x1536
1.3 MB

Coordinates

Position (RA):17 22 55.46
Position (Dec):-34° 57' 44.25"
Field of view:176.71 x 139.60 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 89.8° left of vertical

Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Optical
g
480 nmVLT Survey Telescope
OmegaCAM
Infrared
r
625 nmVLT Survey Telescope
OmegaCAM
Optical
z=0.3 H-Alpha, NB
852 nmVLT Survey Telescope
OmegaCAM