Cat's Paw Nebula

The Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334), also known as the Bear Claw Nebula, is an emission nebula in the constellation of Scorpius. The nebula is about 50 light years across and lies at an approximate distance of 5,500 light years from Earth. It is one of the nearest H II regions to the solar system.

It is a large star forming region, covering an area in the night sky slightly larger than the full Moon. It is one of the most active stellar nurseries producing massive stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. The hot young stars embedded in the nebula are responsible for its glow. The stars are each roughly 10 times as massive as the Sun and were formed relatively recently, within the last few million years.

NGC 6334 may contain tens of thousands of stars, many of them concealed deep within the nebula’s dust. The nebula also contains a vast supply of material needed for star formation, roughly equal to a mass of 200,000 Suns .

The region is producing new stars at a more rapid pace than the more famous Orion Nebula (Messier 42), making NGC 6334 one of the most prolific stellar nurseries known in the Milky Way.

The Nebula was discovered by the British astronomer John Herschel on June 7, 1837. Herschel used one of the largest telescopes available at the time and observed the nebula from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.