                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2025 July 21
     In a starfield a nebula appears that has three main bright regions
   surrounding a dark central nebula. Please see the explanation for more
                            detailed information.

                 Cat's Paw Nebula from Webb Space Telescope
                     Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

   Explanation: Nebulas are perhaps as famous for being identified with
   familiar shapes as perhaps cats are for getting into trouble. Still, no
   known cat could have created the vast Cat's Paw Nebula visible toward
   the constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius). At 5,700 light years
   distant, Cat's Paw is an emission nebula within a larger molecular
   cloud. Alternatively known as the Bear Claw Nebula and cataloged as NGC
   6334, stars nearly ten times the mass of our Sun have been born there
   in only the past few million years. Pictured here is a recently
   released image of the Cat's Paw taken in infrared light by the James
   Webb Space Telescope. This newly detailed view into the nebula helps
   provide insight for how turbulent molecular clouds turn gas into stars.

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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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