NGC 6334, colloquially known as the Cat's Paw Nebula, Bear Claw Nebula, or Gum 64, is an emission nebula and star-forming region located in the constellation Scorpius.^[4] NGC 6334 was discovered by astronomer John Herschel in 1837, who observed it from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.^[5] The nebula is located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way,^[6] at a distance of approximately 5.5 kilolight-years from the Sun.^[7]

The location of NGC 6334 (circled in red)

NGC 6334

Emission nebula
Infrared image of the Cat's Paw Nebula. Green areas showing regions where radiation from hot stars collided with large molecules and small dust grains called "polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons" (PAHs), causing them to fluoresce
Observation data: J2000 epoch
Right ascension	17 20 50.9h [1]
Declination	−36° 06′ 54″[1]
Distance	4.37 ± 0.65 kly (1.34 ± 0.2 kpc)[2] ly
Apparent dimensions (V)	40'×23'
Constellation	Scorpius
Physical characteristics
Radius	40 ly
Designations	NGC 6334, ESO 392-EN 009,[3] Sharpless 8, RCW 127, Gum 64
See also: Lists of nebulae

The nebula is a high mass filamentary cloud structure spanning ~320 ly. In the visible part of the spectrum, it emits mainly in red (from hydrogen atoms) and blue (from oxygen atoms).^[8] Several embedded star-forming regions have been identified from infrared and radio emissions. Four of these sites have formed H II regions.^[6]