NGC 6357 is forming massive stars, and astronomers do not know the reasons why as of now. Pictured above is a star forming it's own "interstellar castle" as complex interactions between interstellar winds, radiation pressures, magnetic fields and gravity take place. The nebula is glowing because of ionized hydrogen gas. The central part of NGC 6357 (shown) lies about 10,000 light years away near the constellation Scorpius. I chose this photo because of it's stunning appearance and because it fascinates me that with all we can see and record and know about our universe, there are events we do not understand and phenomena we cannot explain.
