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Cat's Paw nebula (NGC 6334), combined optical image. The Cat's Paw emission nebula is a huge stellar nursery where hundreds of stars are formed. It lies towards the heart of the Milky Way, 5500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius, and stretches across 50 light-years. Emission nebulae are clouds of gas and dust that are ionised by radiation from hot stars within them, causing them to glow. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/ROBERT GENDLER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)