{"id":13846,"date":"2017-02-01T06:00:20","date_gmt":"2017-02-01T11:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13846"},"modified":"2017-01-31T13:00:51","modified_gmt":"2017-01-31T18:00:51","slug":"eso-celestial-cat-meets-the-cosmic-lobster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13846","title":{"rendered":"ESO: Celestial Cat meets the Cosmic Lobster"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new report from\u00a0ESO<\/a>\u00a0(European Southern Observatory):<\/p>\n

Celestial Cat Meets Cosmic Lobster<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Astronomers have for a long time studied the glowing, cosmic clouds of gas and dust catalogued as NGC 6334 and NGC 6357, this gigantic new image from ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope Survey Telescope being only the most recent one. With around two billion pixels this is one of the largest images ever released by ESO. The evocative shapes of the clouds have led to their memorable names: the Cat\u2019s Paw Nebula<\/em> and the Lobster Nebula<\/em>, respectively.<\/p>\n

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This spectacular image from the VLT Survey Telescope shows the Cat\u2019s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334, upper right) and the Lobster Nebula (NGC 6357, lower left). These dramatic objects are regions of active star formation where the hot young stars are causing the surrounding hydrogen gas to glow red. The very rich field of view also includes dark clouds of dust. With around two billion pixels this is one of the largest images ever released by ESO. [Larger views.<\/a>]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>NGC 6334<\/a> is located about 5500 light-years away from Earth, while NGC 6357<\/a> is more remote, at a distance of 8000 light-years. Both are in the constellation of Scorpius<\/a> (The Scorpion), near the tip of its stinging tail.<\/p>\n