View the true colour rendition of this image here. 

​

The War and Peace Nebula (NGC 6357), also known (more mundanely) as the Lobster Nebula, is an emission nebula located in the constellation of Scorpius some 8000 light years away. Like many other emission nebulae, the War and Peace Nebula is a region of rapid star formation. However, it sets itself apart by being home to some of the most massive stars known to astronomers. At its heart, which can be distinguished by the strong blue glow, lies the star cluster Pismis 24, which has several stars each exceeding the mass of a hundred suns. 

This was photographed in the narrowband Hubble palette, assigning ionised hydrogen to green, oxygen to blue, and sulfur emissions to red. Like many of my other images, narrowband imaging allows me to capture this object from my home window, under a bright city sky.