NGC 6357: The Lobster Nebula

Some of the most massive stars are formed by the Lobster Nebula. No one is certain at the moment. The Lobster Nebula is home to an open star cluster called Pismis 24. The emission of ionized hydrogen gas causes the red glow. There is a tapestry of gas, dark dust, and stars in the surrounding nebula. The intricate patterns are caused by interactions between different things. The image was taken with the DOE's Dark Energy Camera on the 4 meter Blanco Telescope. The constellation of the Scorpion is 8000 light years away from the location of NGC 6358.

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There are three things to watch in this video. Look for a dark circle to approach from the right to block out the sun. The video was made for the partial solar eclipse last week. There is a large solar prominence hovering over the Sun. It is possible to see that part of it is falling back to the sun. The prominence is made of hot plasma that is temporarily held aloft by the Sun. The Sun's edge is going to change. There is a carpet of hot gas tubes going through the Sun's chromoosphere. Although the Sun is expected to last another 5 billion years, the entire time-lapse video only lasts about ten minutes.