This stunning picture shows the War and Peace Nebula, otherwise known as NGC 6357. This nebula is located in the constellation Scorpius and is located some 8,000 light-years from Earth.
The Nebula gets its name because, in infrared, the western section resembles a dove and the eastern section has the shape of a skull. NGC 6357 is a diffuse nebula and contains many proto-stars.
The open cluster Pismis 24 is located within the nebula; this cluster contains several massive stars. Originally, scientists thought the brightest object in the cluster – called Pismis 24-1 – was the most massive star on record as it was thought to be between 200-300 solar masses. Later surveys showed Primis 24-1 to be a binary system containing two stars, each between 100-150 solar masses.
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