View source for NGC 6334

{{short description|Emission nebula in the constellation Scorpius}}
{{Infobox nebula
 | name          = NGC 6334
 | image         = Cats-paw-eso.jpg
 | image_scale   = 1.3
 | alt           = 
 | caption       = Visible light image of the Cat's Paw Nebula from [[La Silla Observatory]]
 | credit        = <!-- Per MOS:CREDITS, credits are discouraged -->
 | type          = emission
 | type2         = <!-- can be wikilinked -->
 | epoch         = [[J2000]]
 | subtype       = 
 | class         = 
 | ra            = {{RA|17|20|50.9}}<ref name=Kharchenko2013/>
 | dec           = {{DEC|−36|06|54}}<ref name=Kharchenko2013/>
 | dist_ly       = {{cvt|1.34|±|0.2|kpc|ly|abbr=on|disp=output number only}}<ref name=Reid14/>
 | dist_pc       = {{val|1340|200|fmt=commas}}<ref name=Reid14/>
 | dist_z        = 
 | appmag_v      = 
 | appdia        = <!-- dd°mm'ss".mas -->
 | size_v        = {{val|35|×|20|u=arcminute}}<ref name=Bakich_2010/>
 | constellation = [[Scorpius]]
 | radius_ly     = {{val|320|u=ly|p=~}}<ref name=Earth_Sky_2019/>
 | radius_pc     = 
 | dimensions    = 
 | absmag_v      = 
 | notes         = 
 | names         = {{odlist | name=Cat's Paw Nebula | NGC=6334 }}, [[Gum Catalog|Gum]]&nbsp;64, [[RCW Catalogue|RCW]]&nbsp;127, {{nowrap|ESO 392-EN 009}},<ref name="simbad" /> [[Sharpless catalog|Sharpless]]&nbsp;8
}}
'''NGC 6334''' is a massive [[emission nebula]] and [[star formation|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]].<ref name=Bakich_2010/> This structure is located in the [[Carina–Sagittarius Arm]] of the [[Milky Way]],<ref name=Sadaghiani2020/> at a distance of approximately {{convert|1.7|kpc|e3ly|1|disp=out|abbr=off|lk=on}} from the [[Sun]].<ref name=Russeil2012/>

This [[nebula]] is a high mass filamentary cloud structure spanning {{val|320|u=ly|p=~}}. In the visible part of the spectrum, NGC 6334 emits mainly in red (from hydrogen atoms) and blue (from oxygen atoms).<ref name=Earth_Sky_2019/>  The interior is heavily obscured by [[interstellar dust]], with clumps ranging up to {{val|3000|ul=solar mass|fmt=commas}} in mass. Although there is pervasive star formation throughout,<ref name=Matthews_et_al_2008/> several embedded star-forming regions have been identified from infrared and [[Radio wave|radio emissions]].<ref name=Sadaghiani2020/> Four of these sites have formed [[H II region]]s.<ref name=Sadaghiani2020/> [[X-ray astronomy|X-ray sources]] within the nebula show the presence of ten distinct [[stellar cluster]]s, most of which are associated with already identified infrared sources and H II regions.<ref name=Feigelson_et_al_2009/>

NGC 6334 is connected by a filamentary structure to [[NGC 6357]], and the two may form a single complex.<ref name=Russeil_et_al_2017/>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:NGC6334Location.png|The location of NGC 6334 (circled in red)
File:VISTA’s infrared view of the Cat’s Paw Nebula.jpg|Infrared view of NGC 6334
File:The star-forming Cat’s Paw Nebula through ArTeMiS’s eyes.jpg|Submillimetre views of the star formation region
File:Protostar blazes and reshapes its stellar nursery.jpg|Star-forming cloud in the Cat's Paw Nebula.<ref>{{cite web|title=Protostar blazes and reshapes its stellar nursery|url=https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1712a/|website=www.eso.org|access-date=20 March 2017}}</ref>
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="simbad">{{cite simbad
  | title=NGC 6334
  | access-date=2007-04-10}}</ref>

<ref name=Sadaghiani2020>{{cite journal
 | title=Physical properties of the star-forming clusters in NGC 6334. A study of the continuum dust emission with ALMA
 | last1=Sadaghiani | first1=M. | last2=Sánchez-Monge | first2=Á.
 | last3=Schilke | first3=P. | last4=Liu | first4=H. B.
 | last5=Clarke | first5=S. D. | last6=Zhang | first6=Q.
 | last7=Girart | first7=J. M. | last8=Seifried | first8=D.
 | last9=Aghababaei | first9=A. | last10=Li | first10=H.
 | last11=Juárez | first11=C. | last12=Tang | first12=K. S.
 | display-authors=1 | journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics
 | volume=635 |id=A2 | pages=25 | date=March 2020
 | arxiv=1911.06579 | bibcode=2020A&A...635A...2S 
 | doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201935699 | s2cid=208077028 }}</ref>

<ref name=Kharchenko2013>{{cite journal
 | title=Global survey of star clusters in the Milky Way. II. The catalogue of basic parameters
 | last1=Kharchenko | first1=N. V. | last2=Piskunov | first2=A. E.
 | last3=Schilbach | first3=E. | last4=Röser | first4=S.
 | last5=Scholz | first5=R.-D. | display-authors=1
 | journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics
 | volume=558 | id=A53 | pages=8 | date=2013
 | bibcode=2013A&A...558A..53K | arxiv=1308.5822
 | doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201322302 | s2cid=118548517 }}</ref>

<ref name=Russeil2012>{{cite journal  
 | title=Statistical study of OB stars in NGC 6334 and NGC 6357 
 | last1=Russeil | first1=D. | last2=Zavagno | first2=A.
 | last3=Adami | first3=C. | last4=Anderson | first4=L. D.
 | last5=Bontemps | first5=S. | last6=Motte | first6=F.
 | last7=Rodon | first7=J. A. | last8=Schneider | first8=N.
 | last9=Ilmane | first9=A. | last10=Murphy | first10=K. J.
 | display-authors=1 | journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics
 | volume=538 | pages=A142 | year=2012
 | doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201117299 | doi-access=free
 | bibcode=2012A&A...538A.142R }}</ref>

<ref name=Reid14>{{cite journal  
 | title=Trigonometric Parallaxes of High Mass Star Forming Regions: The Structure and Kinematics of the Milky Way
 | last1=Reid | first1=M. J. | last2=Menten | first2=K. M.
 | last3=Brunthaler | first3=A. | last4=Zheng | first4=X. W.
 | last5=Dame | first5=T. M. | last6=Xu | first6=Y.
 | last7=Wu | first7=Y. | last8=Zhang | first8=B.
 | last9=Sanna | first9=A. | last10=Sato | first10=M.
 | last11=Hachisuka | first11=K. | last12=Choi | first12=Y. K.
 | last13=Immer | first13=K. | last14=Moscadelli | first14=L.
 | last15=Rygl | first15=K. L. J. | last16=Bartkiewicz | first16=A.
 | display-authors=1 | journal=The Astrophysical Journal
 | volume=783 | pages=130 | year=2014 | issue=2
 | doi=10.1088/0004-637X/783/2/130 | doi-access=free
 | bibcode=2014ApJ...783..130R | arxiv=1401.5377 }}</ref>

<ref name=Earth_Sky_2019>{{cite web
 | title=NGC 6334, Cat's Paw Nebula(true color)
 | publisher=Earth and sky imaging
 | website=earthandskyimaging.com |date=October 2019
 | url=https://earthandskyimaging.com/product/ngc-6334-cats-paw-nebulatrue-color/?doing_wp_cron=1639154796.5445110797882080078125
 | access-date=2025-03-15 }}</ref>

<ref name=Bakich_2010>{{cite book
 | title=1,001 Celestial Wonders to See Before You Die – The Best Sky Objects for Star Gazers
 | first=Michael E. | last=Bakich | year=2010
 | page=217 | publisher=Springer New York | isbn=9781441917775
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qEhpS7d5ZdAC&pg=PA217 }}</ref>

<ref name=Feigelson_et_al_2009>{{cite journal
 | title=Stellar Clusters in the NGC 6334 Star-Forming Complex
 | display-authors=1 | last1=Feigelson | first1=Eric D.
 | last2=Martin | first2=Amanda L. | last3=McNeill | first3=Collin J.
 | last4=Broos | first4=Patrick S. | last5=Garmire | first5=Gordon P.
 | journal=The Astronomical Journal
 | volume=138 | issue=1 | pages=227–239 | date=July 2009
 | doi=10.1088/0004-6256/138/1/227 | arxiv=0905.0716
 | bibcode=2009AJ....138..227F }}</ref>

<ref name=Matthews_et_al_2008>{{cite journal
 | title=The Distribution and Properties of Cold Dust in NGC 6334
 | display-authors=1 | last1=Matthews | first1=Henry E.
 | last2=McCutcheon | first2=William H. | last3=Kirk | first3=Helen
 | last4=White | first4=Glenn J. | last5=Cohen | first5=Martin
 | journal=The Astronomical Journal
 | volume=136 | issue=5 | pages=2083–2101 | date=November 2008
 | doi=10.1088/0004-6256/136/5/2083 | bibcode=2008AJ....136.2083M }}</ref>

<ref name=Russeil_et_al_2017>{{cite journal
 | title=NGC 6334 and NGC 6357. Insights from spectroscopy of their OB star populations
 | display-authors=1 | last1=Russeil | first1=D.
 | last2=Adami | first2=C. | last3=Bouret | first3=J. C.
 | last4=Hervé | first4=A. | last5=Parker | first5=Q. A.
 | last6=Zavagno | first6=A. | last7=Motte | first7=F.
 | journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics
 | volume=607 | at=id. A86 | date=November 2017
 | doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201629870 | bibcode=2017A&A...607A..86R }}</ref>

}}

==External links==
{{commons category|NGC 6334}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100123132116/http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1003/ On the Trail of a Cosmic Cat] — [[ESO]] Photo Release
* {{Sky-Map.org}}
* {{Cite APOD
 | title=The Cat's Paw Nebula
 | date=July 17, 2003
 | url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030717.html
 | access-date=2007-11-05}}
* {{cite APOD
 | title=Wide Angle: The Cat's Paw Nebula
 | date=April 21, 2010
 | url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100421.html
 | access-date=2025-03-15 }}
* {{cite web
  | title=NGC 6334 - The Cat's Paw Nebula
  | work=SEDS Database | publisher=SEDS
  | url=http://spider.seds.org/spider/Misc/n6334.html
  | access-date=2008-04-15}}
* [http://www.constellation-guide.com/cats-paw-nebula/ Cat's Paw Nebula at Constellation Guide]

{{Sh2 objects}}
{{RCW}}
{{Gum catalogue}}
{{NGC objects:6000-6499}}
{{Sky|17|19|58|-|35|57|47|100000000}}

[[Category:Emission nebulae]]
[[Category:Star-forming regions]]
[[Category:NGC objects|6334]]
[[Category:Sharpless objects]]
[[Category:Scorpius]]
[[Category:Astronomical objects discovered in 1837]]