The Lobster Nebula: NGC 6357 | Visible Light & Infrared Views

The Lobster Nebula: NGC 6357 | Visible Light & Infrared Views

This video sequence compares infrared and visible light views of the Lobster Nebula (NGC 6357). The visible light image created from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 and, for the central part, the European Southern Observatory's VLT. The infrared image was taken with the VISTA telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. In the infrared, the dust that obscures many stars becomes nearly transparent, revealing new stars that are otherwise invisible.

Distance: ~8,000 light years

Learn more about ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) telescope:

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/

Credit: ESO/VVV Survey/Digitized Sky Survey 2/D. Minniti

Acknowledgement: Ignacio Toledo

Duration: 1 minute, 26 seconds

Release Date: Feb. 20, 2013

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #NGC6357 #LobsterNebula #Scorpius #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #DSS2 #VisibleLight #STScI #VLT #InfraredTelescope #VISTA #InfraredLight #ParanalObservatory #CerroParanal #Chile #Europe #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video