The Cat’s Paw and Lobster Nebulae

This comparison shows the area around the Lobster and Cat’s Paw nebulae observed at different wavelengths. Top panel: submillimetre wavelengths seen by APEX. Middle panel: near-infrared wavelengths seen by ESO’s VISTA infrared survey telescope; note that regions appearing as dark dust tendrils here show up brightly in the APEX view above. Bottom panel: visible light as seen by the VST, where most of the stars are hidden from view by dusty structures.