NGC 6334 - The cat in the sky

Nebulas are perhaps as famous for being identified with familiar shapes as perhaps cats are for getting into trouble. Still, no known cat could have created the vast Cat's Paw Nebula visible in Scorpius. At 5,500 light years distant, Cat's Paw is an emission nebula with a red color that originates from an abundance of ionized hydrogen atoms. Alternatively known as the Bear Claw Nebula or NGC 6334, stars nearly ten times the mass of our Sun have been born there in only the past few million years. [source APOD] It was discovered by astronomer John Herschel in 1837, who observed it from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. [SEDS Database]

This picture was taken in 7th Meeting Brazilian of Astrophotography in July, 2014 - Alto Paraíso de Goiás - Chapada dos Veadeiros - Goiás - Brazil.

Technical data
ISO 800, total exposure of 01h30m (18 subs), darks, flats and bias applied.

Equipment
- Equatorial Mount Orion Atlas EQ-G
- Auto guided with Orion Starshoot and Refractor Orion 80mm
- Refractor Triplet Meade 80mm APO F6
- Canon DSLR 500D modded with Astrodon Filter
- Astro-Tech Field Flattener 2"

Software
Capture: BackyardEOS
Processing: PixInsight 1.8 and Adobe Photoshop CS5

Stars's spikes were created by crossed wire in front of refractor!