Feline Supremacy! NASA Shares Stunning Image Of 'Cat's Paw Nebula'
NASA recently shared a colourful image of the stunning "Cat's Paw Nebula" - situated at least 4,500 light years away from Earth
The Milky Way is more than just one of the world's favourite chocolate bars. Our home galaxy has an array of colourful objects including nebulas and star systems.
Recently, NASA shared a stunning image of the "Cat's Paw Nebula." As is true for all galaxies and nebulas, this name represents the visual manifestation of the nebula, which resembles a feline's pawprint.
Captured by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, the image shows stars packed in between clouds of colourful gases with red and green hues. In an Instagram post, NASA shared the following message - ¡°Our Spitzer Space Telescope captured the image of this nebula so named for the large, round features that resemble a feline footprint.¡±
What are nebulas?
Nebulas are essentially star nurseries, helping in the creation of celestial bodies in the vastness of universe. The star-forming Cat's Paw Nebula is extremely far, about 4,200 to 5,500 light-years away from Earth.
Spitzer was a spacecraft designed to captured infrared data of space and astronomers used data from the now retired telescope's two instruments to create the image. The colourful images of space we see are actually not visible to the human eye, hence infrared light is used to capture the true essence of space objects.
Also read: Farthest Signs Of Water Detected In Galaxy 12.8 Billion Light Years Away
Also known as Bear Claw Nebula or NGC 6334, the Cat's Paw Nebula is extremely red owing to high concentration of ionised hydrogen atoms. Various lights that are apparent in the nebula are a product of hydrogen, oxygen, and sulphur.
NASA + Unsplash
The star nursery has birthed stars "ten times" the mass of our Sun in the last few million years, NASA added.
Also read: First Ever Planet Outside Our Galaxy Spotted At 28 Million Light Years Away
Are you in complete awe like us after seeing this beautiful piece of universe's puzzle? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below. For more happenings in the world of science and technology, keep reading Indiatimes.com.
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