Emission Nebula
A cloud of ionized gas emitting light of various colors, often found in regions of active star formation and contributing to the reddish hues observed in galaxies.
Source: esa.int
APODs including "Emission Nebula"
The Cat's Paw Nebula
28/06/2006
Nebulae are perhaps as famous for being identified with familiar shapes as cats are for getting into trouble. Still, no known cat could have created the vast Cat's Paw Nebula visible in Scorpius. At 5,500 light years distant, Cat's Paw is an emission nebula with a red color that originates from an abundance of ionized hydrogen atoms. Alternatively known as the Bear Claw Nebula or NGC 6334, stars nearly ten times the mass of our Sun have been born there in only the past few million years. This deep wide-field image of the Cat's Paw nebula was photographed from New South Wales, Australia.