Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Scorpius (Sco)  ·  Contains:  B257  ·  HD155736  ·  HD155807  ·  HD155974  ·  HD156134  ·  HD156154  ·  HD156201  ·  HD156369  ·  HD156867  ·  HD156935  ·  HD157036  ·  HD157059  ·  HD157060  ·  HD157418  ·  NGC 6334  ·  Sh2-8
NGC 6334, Gary Imm
NGC 6334, Gary Imm

NGC 6334

NGC 6334, Gary Imm
NGC 6334, Gary Imm

NGC 6334

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Description

This object, also known as Sh2-8 and the Cat's Paw Nebula, is an emission nebula located 5500 light years away in the constellation of Scorpius at a declination of -36 degrees. It is one of the closest emission regions to earth. The apparent size of the nebula is about 1/2 degree in diameter, which corresponds to a width of about 50 light years.

This narrowband image is dominated by an orange/yellow hue from a combination of the strong Ha and SII signals, relative to the weak overall OIII signal.   The multihued bottom left lobe is due to the stronger presence of OIII in this region. I like the dark dust lanes throughout the nebula which are silhouetted against the emission.

This region of the sky is one of the most prolific star forming regions in the Milky Way. Scientists cannot definitively identify the cause for such intense star formation in this nebula, but they have ruled out the usual triggers of a supernova or colliding galaxies.

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NGC 6334, Gary Imm