Look: Cat's paw in the sky? UAE astronomers capture larger-than-Moon-size nebula
Photographed from the skies of Abu Dhabi's desert, the nebula was captured under challenging conditions, after 10 gruelling hours.
The cosmic wonder, made up from gas and dust, was situated in the Scorpius constellation, according to the Al-Khatem Astronomical Observatory.
The nebula's unique shape is not the only stunning thing about it. Its apparent size is also slightly larger than the full moon, while its actual size is such that light, travelling at 300,000 kilometres per second, would take 320 years to cross it from one end to the other.
The large emission nebula is also a birthplace for stars. An emission nebula is a cloud of gas and dust in space that glows as a result of energised electrons recombining with atoms, emitting light in the process. These nebulae are often associated with star formation, where young, hot stars emit ultraviolet radiation that ionizes the surrounding gas.
The light captured in the image in 2025 was emitted from the nebula 4,370 years ago. So why is it named the Cat's Paw? You guessed it! It originates from the shape of a cat's paw.
The red colour of the nebula, situated in the digital pads of the cat paw shape, indicates the presence of hydrogen gas. Meanwhile the blue colour, located inside the paw and inner pad, indicates the presence of oxygen gas.
Capturing method
Capturing the nebula was not an easy task, as its maximum altitude above the horizon is 30 degrees, making it significantly affected by light pollution and atmospheric interference.
The nebula was observed by Osama Ghanam, Anas Mohammed and Khalfan Al Nuaimi. Meanwhile, the image was captured by Mohammed Odeh and processed by Haitham Hamdi.
Two telescopes were used to capture the image, along with a colour camera and a light pollution filter. The light pollution level at the observation site was Bortle 6.
It took approximately 9.75 hours to capture it, which consisted of 195 images, each with a 3-minute exposure. Ninety-two images were taken with the 5-inch telescope, and 103 images with the 4-inch telescope.
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