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This image, taken by astronomers using the US Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF's NOIRLab, captures the emission nebula and star-forming region NGC 6357, which is located 8000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Scorpius. This image reveals bright, young stars surrounded by billowing clouds of dust and gas inside NGC 6357, which is also known as the Lobster Nebula.
NGC 6357 is spanning about 400 light years. The central region in this image is home to Pismis 24, a star cluster that includes some of the most massive stars in our galaxy, some hundreds of times more massive than our own sun.
Image Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA
T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF's NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF's NOIRLab), M. Zamani and D. de Martin (NSF's NOIRLab)
Image enhancement: Jean-Baptiste Faure
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