"MY GOD, IT'S FULL OF STARS!"
Using infrared filters to punch through the Lobster Nebula's billowing clouds of dust, ESO's VISTA telescope has produced this beautiful image of the rich starfields and ethereal wisps of gas that surround open cluster Pismis 24.
Stellar nursery NGC 6357 can be found 8000 light-years away in the direction of Scorpius. Though its appearance in visible light gave it the nickname "The Lobster Nebula," this infrared view from ESO's VISTA telescope pierces through the thick pall of dust that gives the nebula its shape, seen here: http://on.fb.me/14ssmUW
This vast cloud of dust and gas is churning out hot, massive young stars. Just above center, a knot of bluish stars known as Pismis 24 can be seen. One of the cluster's brightest inhabitants, Pismis 24-1, was originally thought to possess a staggering 200-300 solar masses making it the most massive known star in the galaxy. However, it was later discovered that Pismis 24-1 is actually a system of at least three stars, each with less than 100 solar masses.
Using infrared filters to punch through the Lobster Nebula's billowing clouds of dust, ESO's VISTA telescope has produced this beautiful image of the rich starfields and ethereal wisps of gas that surround open cluster Pismis 24.
Stellar nursery NGC 6357 can be found 8000 light-years away in the direction of Scorpius. Though its appearance in visible light gave it the nickname "The Lobster Nebula," this infrared view from ESO's VISTA telescope pierces through the thick pall of dust that gives the nebula its shape, seen here: http://on.fb.me/14ssmUW
This vast cloud of dust and gas is churning out hot, massive young stars. Just above center, a knot of bluish stars known as Pismis 24 can be seen. One of the cluster's brightest inhabitants, Pismis 24-1, was originally thought to possess a staggering 200-300 solar masses making it the most massive known star in the galaxy. However, it was later discovered that Pismis 24-1 is actually a system of at least three stars, each with less than 100 solar masses.
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