It’s International Cat Day… and we’re celebrating with claws and cosmic dust! 🐾 8 August is all about our feline friends – so naturally, we’re marking the occasion with the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334), as seen in dazzling detail by esawebb Roughly 4 000 light-years away, this massive star-forming region in the constellation Scorpius is a hive of stellar activity. Young, massive stars are lighting up the nebula in shades of blue, red and gold – sculpting gas and dust, igniting new stars, and reshaping their surroundings with bursts of energy. Zoom into the “Opera House” at the top centre, trace the fiery red clumps where stars are still forming, or spot the bow shock at bottom left – evidence of a stellar tantrum unfolding in space. This new view is just a glimpse of what Webb’s capable of. In its third year of science, it’s captured Einstein rings, baby stars in distant galaxies, and even Jupiter’s glowing aurorae. And it’s only just getting started. Happy International Cat Day! ...