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Cosmic Caverns in the Cat’s Paw Nebula

This visualization explores a subset of toe bean-reminiscent structures within a section of the Cat’s Paw Nebula, a massive, local star-forming region located approximately 4,000 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.

This image by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in near-infrared light was released in honor of the telescope’s third science operations anniversary. Since it began science operations in July 2022, Webb’s observations of our universe have wowed scientists and the public alike.

Glide into the lower left toe bean, moving past many small yellow stars along the way, where filaments of gas and dust frame the cavernous area. The region’s nebulous glow, represented in blue, is from the bright light of massive young stars.

Float toward the top toe bean, which is nicknamed the “Opera House” for its circular, tiered-like structure. As you move, you’ll pass plumes of orange-brown dust that vary in density and small, fiery red clumps where star formation is occurring, albeit in an obscured manner.

Release Date
July 10, 2025
Science Release
NASA’s Webb Scratches Beyond Surface of Cat’s Paw for 3rd Anniversary
Read the release
Credit
Producer: Gregory Bacon (STScI), Frank Summers (STScI); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI); Music: Joseph DePasquale (STScI); Designer: Ralf Crawford (STScI), Leah Hustak (STScI), Christian Nieves (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI); Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, VISTA

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Related Images & Videos

A section of the Cat’s Paw Nebula, a local star-forming region composed of gas, dust, and young stars. Four roughly circular areas are toward the center of the frame: a small oval toward the top left, a large circle in the top center, and two ovals at bottom left and right. Each circular area has a luminous blue glow, with the top center and bottom left areas the brightest. Brown-orange filaments of dust, which vary in density, surround these four bluish patches and stretch toward the frame’s edges. Small zones, such as to the left and right of the top-center blue circular area, appear darker and seemingly vacant of stars. Toward the center are small, fiery red clumps scattered among the brown dust. Many small, yellow-white stars are spread across the scene, some with eight-pointed diffraction spikes that are characteristic of Webb. A few larger blue-white stars with diffraction spikes are scattered throughout, mostly toward the top left and bottom right. In the top right corner is a bright red-orange oval.

Cat's Paw Nebula (NIRCam Image)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared view of the Cat’s Paw Nebula reveals mini “toe beans.” Massive young stars are carving the gas and dust while their bright starlight is producing a bright nebulous glow. Eventually this turbulent region will quench star formation.

Image titled “James Webb Space Telescope; Cat’s Paw Nebula; NGC 6334,” with compass arrows, scale bar, and color key. This portion of the star-forming region contains four roughly circular areas composed of gas, dust, and young stars. Each circular area has a luminous blue glow. Many small, yellow-white stars are spread across the scene, and a few larger blue-white stars are scattered throughout. At the bottom left is a scale bar labeled 1.6 light-years. The length of the scale bar is about one sixth of the total image. At the bottom right are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The east arrow points toward 12 o’clock. The north arrow points in the 3 o’clock direction. Below the image is a color key showing which NIRCam filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From left to right: F090W is blue, F187N is cyan, F200W is green, F277W is yellow, F335M is orange, and F470N is red.

Cat's Paw (NIRCam) Compass Image

This image of the Cat’s Paw Nebula, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.

Telescope image including distant stars and the dark, arm of a galaxy are overlaid with a semi-transparent graphic representing the constellation Scorpio, as a scorpion. Thin blue lines connect the actual stars of the constellations.

Zoom into the Cat's Paw Nebula

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