NGC 6357 is a diffuse nebula complex in the tail of the Constellation of Scorpius. The nebula contains many proto-stars shielded by dark disks of gas, and young stars wrapped in expanding "cocoons". Within the complex we have Pismis 24 including some of the most massive stars known in our Milky Way with over 100 times the mass of our Sun. Intricate shapes in the nebula are carved by interstellar winds and energetic radiation from the young and newly forming massive stars.
The image was taken with a TMB 92 f5.5 refractor and a QSI 583 WS CCD camera riding in a NEQ6 from Mendoza, Argentina with a total exposure time of 2 hs and 50 minutes