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NASA's Webb Scratches Beyond Surface of Cat's Paw for 3rd Anniversary

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July 10, 2025 10:00AM (EDT)Release ID: 2025-129
A section of the Cat’s Paw Nebula, a local star-forming region composed of gas, dust, and young stars. Toward the center is a large arch of brown-orange filaments of dust. The area to the left and right of this section appear darker and seemingly vacant of stars. Many small, yellow-white stars are spread across the scene, some with eight-pointed diffraction spikes that are characteristic of Webb. A few larger blue-white stars with diffraction spikes are scattered throughout, with the largest located at left.

Summary

What lies within a toe bean? According to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, mini toe beans composed of gas, dust, and stars.

Since the start of its science operations in July 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope has amazed scientists and the public alike with its ability to peer farther into the cosmos than ever before. With each infrared-light observation, the telescope continues to reveal aspects of the universe previously unknown to us.

To mark its third year of highly productive science, astronomers used Webb to scratch beyond the surface of the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334), a massive, local star-forming region. This near-infrared view, which shows a portion of a singular “toe bean,” reveals a subset of mini toe bean-reminiscent structures composed of gas, dust, and young stars.

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Visit NASA Science to view the full news release including article text and associated Webb imagery, graphics, scientific visualizations, videos, captions, text descriptions, and other information.

News releases highlighting the discoveries of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope are produced for NASA by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, under NASA Contract NAS5-03127. News release content is developed by the News Team in STScI’s Office of Public Outreach.

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