IC 2944 / 2948 Complex
OTA: RCOS (12.5” f/8)
Camera: SBIG STXL11002
Observatory: Heaven’s Mirror, Au
EXPOSURES:
Hydrogen: 14 x 1200 sec
Sulfur: 12 x 1200
Oxygen: 12 x 1200
Total exposure 12.7 hours
Image Width: ~1.4 deg (full frame)
Processed by Alex Woronow (2019) using PixInsight, Topaz, SWT
The open clusters and associated emission nebulae lie about 700pc to 3.2kpc from the sun, strung out along our line of sight, consist of very young, pre-main sequence O and B stars. Some of the stars are believed to be less than a million years old. About half of the half of the young stars forming double- or multi-star complexes, often in very tight pairs.
Associated with this nebula are small, dark clouds silhouetted against the bright background. These are known as “Thackeray’s Globules” in this nebula, but as “Bok’s Globules” more generally. A study of these features suggests that they are evaporating rapidly, the what we observe are the remaining fragments of what was once one or more larger dark clouds. A close-up of one of the more structured globules appears Here:
https://www.astrobin.com/1hecsf/?nc=user
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