Cat's Paw NebulaJanuary 20, 2010—Red clouds of gas and dust create a giant paw print in space, as seen in a new picture of the Cat's Paw Nebula taken at the European Southern Observatory in Chile.

British astronomer John Herschel discovered the nebula, near the center of the Milky Way, in 1837. The Cat's Paw is one of the most active stellar nurseries in our galaxy, and astronomers think its glowing hydrogen clouds are home to tens of thousands of hot young stars.

Picture courtesy ESO

Space Photos This Week: Cat's Paw, Dwarf Galaxy, More

A nebula creates a paw print in the cosmos, NASA surveys Haiti earthquake damage, a star-making "party" ends, and more in the week's best space pictures.

Published January 22, 2010