NGC 6334

NGC 6334Emission nebula

Near-infrared image of the Cat’s Paw Nebula from the James Webb Space Telescope.

Observation data: J2000 epoch
Right ascension|  17h 20m 50.9s[1]
Declination| −36° 06′ 54″[1]
Distance| 4,370 ± 650[2] ly (1,340±200[2] pc)
Apparent dimensions (V)| 35′ × 20′[3]
Constellation| Scorpius
Physical characteristics
Radius| ~320 ly[4] ly
Designations| Cat's Paw Nebula, NGC 6334, Gum 64, RCW 127, ESO 392-EN 009,[5] Sharpless 8
See also: Lists of nebulae

NGC 6334 is a massive emission nebula and star-forming region located in the constellation Scorpius. It is colloquially known as the Cat's Paw Nebula, and can be found 3° to the west-northwest of the bright star Lambda Scorpii. NGC 6334 was discovered by English astronomer John Herschel on June 7, 1837, who observed it from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. It spans an angular area larger than the full Moon.[3] This structure is located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way,[6] at a distance of approximately 5.5 thousand light-years from the Sun.[7]

This nebula is a high mass filamentary cloud structure spanning ~320 ly. In the visible part of the spectrum, NGC 6334 emits mainly in red (from hydrogen atoms) and blue (from oxygen atoms).[4] The interior is heavily obscured by interstellar dust, with clumps ranging up to 3,000 M☉ in mass. Although there is pervasive star formation throughout,[8] several embedded star-forming regions have been identified from infrared and radio emissions.[6] Four of these sites have formed H II regions.[6] X-ray sources within the nebula show the presence of ten distinct stellar clusters, most of which are associated with already identified infrared sources and H II regions.[9]

NGC 6334 is connected by a filamentary structure to NGC 6357, and the two may form a single complex.[10]

## Contents

* 1 2025 James Webb Telescope discoveries
* 2 Gallery
* 3 References
* 4 External links

## 2025 James Webb Telescope discoveries

In July of 2025, astrophysicists using the James Webb Space Telescope reported views of a stellar nursery within what they humorously call the "toe beans," the large, circular structures resembling the soft pads on the bottom of cats' paws. The team achieved a close-up of a red-orange oval toe bean within which veiled stars are beginning to shine, including one that produced a visible shockwave when it ejected gas and dust at high speeds.[11] The NASA press report begins:

> It's the cat's meow! To celebrate its third year of revealing stunning scenes of the cosmos in infrared light, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has "clawed" back the thick, dusty layers of a section within the Cat's Paw Nebula (NGC 6334). Focusing Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on a single "toe bean" within this active star-forming region revealed a subset of mini toe beans, which appear to contain young stars shaping the surrounding gas and dust.[12]

The NASA press release also reported on the dust-filled nebular section known as the "Opera House" and other toe beans where, despite intense radiation, dust filaments may be dense enough to form protostars.

## Gallery

* The location of NGC 6334 (circled in red)

* Infrared view of NGC 6334

* Submillimetre views of the star formation region

* Star-forming cloud in the Cat's Paw Nebula.[13]

* Taken in 2007 using the Mosaic-2 imager on the Blanco 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kharchenko, N. V. et al. (2013). "Global survey of star clusters in the Milky Way. II. The catalogue of basic parameters". Astronomy and Astrophysics 558: 8. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201322302. A53. Bibcode: 2013A&A...558A..53K.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Reid, M. J. et al. (2014). "Trigonometric Parallaxes of High Mass Star Forming Regions: The Structure and Kinematics of the Milky Way". The Astrophysical Journal 783 (2): 130. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/783/2/130. Bibcode: 2014ApJ...783..130R.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bakich, Michael E. (2010). 1,001 Celestial Wonders to See Before You Die – The Best Sky Objects for Star Gazers. Springer New York. p. 217. ISBN 9781441917775. https://books.google.com/books?id=qEhpS7d5ZdAC&pg=PA217.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "NGC 6334, Cat's Paw Nebula(true color)". Earth and sky imaging. October 2019. https://earthandskyimaging.com/product/ngc-6334-cats-paw-nebulatrue-color/?doing_wp_cron=1639154796.5445110797882080078125.
5. ↑ "NGC 6334". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=NGC+6334.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Sadaghiani, M. et al. (March 2020). "Physical properties of the star-forming clusters in NGC 6334. A study of the continuum dust emission with ALMA". Astronomy & Astrophysics 635: 25. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201935699. A2. Bibcode: 2020A&A...635A...2S.
7. ↑ Russeil, D. et al. (2012). "Statistical study of OB stars in NGC 6334 and NGC 6357". Astronomy & Astrophysics 538: A142. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201117299. Bibcode: 2012A&A...538A.142R.
8. ↑ Matthews, Henry E. et al. (November 2008). "The Distribution and Properties of Cold Dust in NGC 6334". The Astronomical Journal 136 (5): 2083–2101. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/136/5/2083. Bibcode: 2008AJ....136.2083M.
9. ↑ Feigelson, Eric D. et al. (July 2009). "Stellar Clusters in the NGC 6334 Star-Forming Complex". The Astronomical Journal 138 (1): 227–239. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/138/1/227. Bibcode: 2009AJ....138..227F.
10. ↑ Russeil, D. et al. (November 2017). "NGC 6334 and NGC 6357. Insights from spectroscopy of their OB star populations". Astronomy & Astrophysics 607: id. A86. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201629870. Bibcode: 2017A&A...607A..86R.
11. ↑ Kuthunur, Sharmila (July 10, 2025). "James Webb Space Telescope celebrates 3 years of science with dazzling 'toe beans' image of Cat's Paw Nebula". https://www.space.com/astronomy/james-webb-space-telescope/james-webb-space-telescope-celebrates-3-years-of-science-with-dazzling-toe-beans-image-of-cats-paw-nebula.
12. ↑ NASA Webb Mission Team (July 10, 2025). "NASA's Webb Scratches Beyond Surface of Cat's Paw for 3rd Anniversary". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-scratches-beyond-surface-of-cats-paw-for-3rd-anniversary/.
13. ↑ "Protostar blazes and reshapes its stellar nursery". https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1712a/.

## External links

* On the Trail of a Cosmic Cat — ESO Photo Release
*   * NGC 6334 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images
* Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds (July 17, 2003). "The Cat's Paw Nebula". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030717.html.
* Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds (April 21, 2010). "Wide Angle: The Cat's Paw Nebula". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100421.html.
* "NGC 6334 - The Cat's Paw Nebula". SEDS Database. SEDS. http://spider.seds.org/spider/Misc/n6334.html.
* Cat's Paw Nebula at Constellation Guide
* NASA press release for James Webb Telescope discoveries (2025)
* Video: A Narrated Visualization: Cosmic Caverns in the Cat's Paw Nebula (98 sec.)
* Video: Zoom into the Cat's Paw Nebula (42 sec.)

* v
* t
* e

Sharpless catalog

* Sh2-1
* Sh2-2
* Sh2-3
* Sh2-4
* Sh2-5
* Sh2-6
* Sh2-7
* Sh2-8
* Sh2-9
* Sh2-10
* Sh2-11
* Sh2-12
* Sh2-13
* Sh2-14
* Sh2-15
* Sh2-16
* Sh2-17
* Sh2-18
* Sh2-19
* Sh2-20
* Sh2-21
* Sh2-22
* Sh2-23
* Sh2-24
* Sh2-25
* Sh2-26
* Sh2-27
* Sh2-28
* Sh2-29
* Sh2-30
* Sh2-31
* Sh2-32
* Sh2-33
* Sh2-34
* Sh2-35
* Sh2-36
* Sh2-37
* Sh2-38
* Sh2-39
* Sh2-40
* Sh2-41
* Sh2-42
* Sh2-43
* Sh2-44
* Sh2-45
* Sh2-46
* Sh2-47
* Sh2-48
* Sh2-49
* Sh2-50
* Sh2-51
* Sh2-52
* Sh2-53
* Sh2-54
* Sh2-55
* Sh2-56
* Sh2-57
* Sh2-58
* Sh2-59
* Sh2-60
* Sh2-61
* Sh2-62
* Sh2-63
* Sh2-64
* Sh2-65
* Sh2-66
* Sh2-67
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* Sh2-71
* Sh2-72
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* Sh2-273
* Sh2-274
* Sh2-275
* Sh2-276
* Sh2-277
* Sh2-278
* Sh2-279
* Sh2-280
* Sh2-281
* Sh2-282
* Sh2-283
* Sh2-284
* Sh2-285
* Sh2-286
* Sh2-287
* Sh2-288
* Sh2-289
* Sh2-290
* Sh2-291
* Sh2-292
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* Sh2-296
* Sh2-297
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* Sh2-306
* Sh2-307
* Sh2-308
* Sh2-309
* Sh2-310
* Sh2-311
* Sh2-312
* Sh2-313

* See also: Gum catalog
* Nebula
* RCW Catalogue
* Stewart Sharpless

* v
* t
* e

RCW Catalogue

* RCW 1 \- RCW 182

* See also: Emission nebula
* H I region
* H II region

* v
* t
* e

Gum Catalog

Colin Stanley Gum

* Gum 1
* Gum 2
* Gum 3
* Gum 4
* Gum 5
* Gum 6
* Gum 7
* Gum 8
* Gum 9
* Gum 10
* Gum 12
* Gum 13
* Gum 14
* Gum 15
* Gum 16
* Gum 17
* Gum 18
* Gum 19
* Gum 20
* Gum 21
* Gum 22
* Gum 23
* Gum 24
* Gum 25
* Gum 26
* Gum 27
* Gum 28
* Gum 29
* Gum 30
* Gum 31
* Gum 32
* Gum 33
* Gum 34
* Gum 35
* Gum 36
* Gum 37
* Gum 38
* Gum 39
* Gum 40
* Gum 41
* Gum 42
* Gum 43
* Gum 44
* Gum 45
* Gum 46
* Gum 47
* Gum 48
* Gum 49
* Gum 50
* Gum 51
* Gum 52
* Gum 53
* Gum 54
* Gum 55
* Gum 56
* Gum 57
* Gum 58
* Gum 59
* Gum 60
* Gum 61
* Gum 62
* Gum 63
* Gum 64
* Gum 65
* Gum 66
* Gum 67
* Gum 68
* Gum 69
* Gum 70
* Gum 71
* Gum 72
* Gum 73
* Gum 74
* Gum 75
* Gum 76
* Gum 77
* Gum 78
* Gum 79
* Gum 80
* Gum 81
* Gum 82
* Gum 83
* Gum 84
* Gum 85

See also: Gum Nebula

Template:NGC objects:6000-6499 Coordinates:  17h 19m 58s, −35° 57′ 47″

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