NASA has released a rather astonishing new image of the Cat ’s Paw Nebula , a star - form region located roughly 5,000 light - years from Earth .
The imagewas snappedby NASA ’s infrared Spitzer Space Telescope . It was taken as part of the Galactic Legacy Mid - Plane Survey Extraordinaire project , orGLIMPSE , which has made the most accurate function ever of the central barroom of our galaxy .
The Cat ’s Paw , also calledNGC 6334 , is estimated to be about 80 to 90 weak - years across , nominate for its large round feature that look a bit like the toe beans of a feline paw . It ’s determine in the configuration of Scorpius , with estimates for its aloofness from us ranging from 4,200 to 5,500 light - years away .
It ’s known as anemission nebula , one where high - energy photon from nearby stars ionise the gas in the nebula . And that ’s how the nebula gets its more playful name , notably the existence of “ gas bubbles ” within it .
These are the promising crimson regions of the image you could see , make as newborn wiz fire up up the gas surrounding them . The unripe regions are where red-hot stars have collided with molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and cause them to fluoresce .
The bubbles can even “ burst ” , according to NASA , and create a U - influence feature article where one side of the bubble seems to be open . A second image of the nebula , below , shows one of these features on the right - hand side .
Spitzer pretend images like these potential as it can peer through dust and accelerator by image in infrared . The first icon was charter by both the Multiband Imaging Photometer ( MIPS ) and the Infrared Array Camera ( IRAC ) on Spitzer , while the 2d was just take by the latter . The MIPS has an advantage of being able-bodied to collect light from junk that has been warm by hot accelerator and stars .
But even these cameras ca n’t see everything . NASA noted that the smuggled regions of both images “ are regions of flatulency and dust so impenetrable , not even infrared brightness can slip by through them . ” They added these could even be the place of origin of new maven .
The Cat ’s Paw has an unlikely familiar , too . It sits near another whizz - forming neighborhood off to the left of these image , call NGC 6357 , but also jazz as theLobster Nebula . Delicious .
