Cat’s Paw nebula

Cat’s Paw nebula

The Cat’s Paw Nebula, also catalogued as NGC 6334, is one of the Milky Way’s most spectacular stellar nurseries. Located in the constellation Scorpius about 5,500 light-years away, its glowing red clouds of ionized hydrogen form rounded structures that resemble the pads of a cat’s paw. The nebula spans roughly 50 light-years and is an intense region of star birth. Deep inside its dense dust lanes, massive young blue stars are forming, while the powerful ultraviolet radiation from these newborn stars lights up the surrounding gas. For astrophotographers, the Cat’s Paw is especially striking because it sits in a rich Milky Way star field toward the galactic center. Narrowband imaging often brings out its dramatic contrast: glowing red orange hydrogen regions interspersed with rich blue oxygen , dark absorbing dust, and those unmistakable paw-like “toe beans” suspended in space….

Telescope: Takahashi E160ed F3.3
Camera: Zwo 6200mm pro
Filters : Astronomik MaxFR LRGBSHO
Mount: Software Bisque Paramount MX+
Observatory : Deep Sky Chile

R= 101 x 180s
G= 117 x 180s
B= 100 x 180s
Sii = 100 x 300s
Ha = 102 x 300s
Oiii = 102 x 600s
Total integration = 49h44m
Software : NINA, PixInsight