Unpleasant winter evenings, when the gloomy landscape becomes increasingly palpable, are the best time to remind ourselves of cosmic objects visible under the Namibian sky. Among such frames, an undisputed favorite is the Cat's Paw Nebula, an extraordinary object not only due to its name but also because of its remarkable beauty.
NGC 6334, known as the Bear Claw Nebula or the titular Cat's Paw Nebula, is located in the Scorpius constellation, approximately 5500 light-years away from Earth. This, in a nutshell, very red emission nebula (hydrogen emission is many times stronger than any other ordinary lines recorded through narrowband filters) extends over about 40x30 arc minutes and was discovered by John Herschel in 1837. The region is currently under thorough examination and monitoring as it undergoes a crazy period of birth, a veritable "stellar baby boom." The total mass of gas in this complex, exceeding 200,000 Suns, is forming stars at the highest known rate of star births in our galaxy. Recently, around 2000 stars were born there, and currently, almost 10,000 more are forming with varying intensity. In the future, this influx of new, massive, hot stars will significantly modify the appearance of the nebula. It will resemble the current nebula surrounding the Pleiades, although its distance, greater by a factor of 10, will prevent us from perceiving it in the same size.
For more information, I refer you to the attached source materials, particularly recommending reading about observations of this area conducted in the infrared range using the Spitzer telescope.
Regarding the photograph itself, it was taken in Hakos during an astrophotographic expedition by Astropolis-Astrolife. I haven't fully dealt with the red tint and a few other imperfections, but for now, I present the photograph in this form.
Summary of technical details and material acquisition: TS APO 65Q, ZWO ASI 294MC Pro; Optolong L-Extreme: G: 120; 33x300 sec.; RGB: G: 120; 11x300 sec.
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