Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Centaurus (Cen)  ·  Contains:  HD100026  ·  HD100096  ·  HD100098  ·  HD100099  ·  HD100100  ·  HD100124  ·  HD100126  ·  HD100162  ·  HD100163  ·  HD100199  ·  HD100200  ·  HD100212  ·  HD100243  ·  HD100263  ·  HD100279  ·  HD100296  ·  HD100323  ·  HD100355  ·  HD100443  ·  HD100444  ·  HD100466  ·  HD100495  ·  HD100529  ·  HD100530  ·  HD100652  ·  HD100666  ·  HD100736  ·  HD100737  ·  HD100752  ·  HD100759  ·  And 382 more.
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
IC 2944  The Running Chicken Nebula featuring the planetary nebula PK 294-0.1, Steeve Body
Powered byPixInsight

IC 2944 The Running Chicken Nebula featuring the planetary nebula PK 294-0.1

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
IC 2944  The Running Chicken Nebula featuring the planetary nebula PK 294-0.1, Steeve Body
Powered byPixInsight

IC 2944 The Running Chicken Nebula featuring the planetary nebula PK 294-0.1

Equipment

Loading...

Acquisition details

Loading...

Description

IC 2944, also known as the Running Chicken Nebula is an open cluster with an associated emission nebula found in the constellation Centaurus, near the star λ Centauri.Some people see a chicken, others a crocodile, myself I see the character Scrat from ice age going after his acorn.This target came up pretty well considering the relatively short integration.Also notice the very small planetary nebula right at the top right of the image that I believe is the Planetary Nebula PK 294-0.1

This nebula is made up of glowing hydrogen and newborn stars located in the constellation of Centaurus approximately 6,500 light-years from Earth.Hot newborn stars that formed from clouds of hydrogen gas shine brightly within the nebula.

Another indication that the Lambda Centauri nebula is bustling with star formation is the series of black clumps dotted against the red background. These are examples of a type of cosmic object called a Bok globule.Bok globules appear as dark features because they absorb the light from their more luminous background.
IC 2944 gets the running chicken nebula name from a group of stars that resemble a running chicken. The star Lambda Centauri lies just outside IC 2944. The nebulae is 6,500 light years from earth.

Comments