Bright nebulae abound in and around the expansive southern constellation of Centaurus. The bright red emission nebulae, cataloged as IC 2948/2944, are near the star Lambda Centauri (just off the left of the frame) and not far on the sky from the better known Eta Carinae Nebula. Embedded in the reddish glowing cloud of hydrogen gas, is the energetic young star cluster Collinder 249. Seen in silhouette at the very center of the view are small, dark clouds of obscuring cosmic dust. Called Thackeray's Globules for their discoverer, they are potential sites for the formation of new stars, but are likely being eroded by the intense radiation from the nearby young stars. The gorgeous skyscape spans about 70 light-years at the nebula's estimated 6,000 light-year distance. (ref.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080418.html )
On the bottom right of the image lies a wispy dark nebula hiding some of the bright red emmission and meeting a bright star at its end. I have seen it's been named "Churchill's Cigar" at least once, and repeat the name here too.
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