#ngc 6357

[spacewonder19]

NGC 6357: Cathedral to Massive Stars ©

[blasteffect]

Pismis 24 !

The small open star cluster Pismis 24 lies in the core of the large emission nebula NGC 6357 in Scorpius, about 8,000 light-years away from Earth.

The brightest object in the picture is designated Pismis 24-1. It was once thought to weigh as much as 200 to 300 solar masses. This would not only have made it by far the most massive known star in the galaxy, but would have put it considerably above the currently believed upper mass limit of about 150 solar masses for individual stars.

However, Hubble Space Telescope high-resolution images of the star show that it is really two stars orbiting one another. They are estimated to each be 100 solar masses.

NASA/ESA/J. Maíz Apellániz (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Spain)

[quiltofstars]

The War and Peace Nebula, NGC 6357 // Rick Mavrovich

[cosmonautroger]

NGC 6357

[without-ado]

NGC 6357: Cathedral to Massive Stars

[boanerges20]

NGC 6357 "Stardust Cathedral"

[chibinotan]

Angular Nebula

[mckitterick]

Baby Stars Set Cradle on Fire

The young blue stars of cluster Pismis 24 ionize the core of emission nebula NGC 6357 (the Lobster Nebula) in Scorpius, setting it alight. Intense ultraviolet radiation blazing from the supermassive star near the bottom of this photo creates a glowing bubble in the vast nebula where these babies were born.

NASA source: X