#ic2944

IC2944 - Running Chicken Nebula

Running Chicken Nebula (IC 2944) To some, it looks like a giant chicken running across the sky. To others, it looks like a gaseous nebula where star formation takes place. I call it the Chicken Run Nebula. Cataloged as IC 2944, the Running Chicken Nebula spans about 100 light years and lies about 6,000 light years away toward the constellation of the Centaur (Centaurus). The featured image, shown in scientifically assigned colors, was captured recently in an 11-hour exposure from a backyard near Melbourne, Australia. Two star clusters are visible: the Pearl Cluster seen on the far left, and Collinder 249 embedded in the nebula’s glowing gas. Although difficult to discern here, several dark molecular clouds with distinct shapes can be found inside the nebula.

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#ic2944 ::::: (à Montpellier, France)

IC2944 The Running Chicken Nebula 114min f4.0 800mm Photo: Neil Creek #space #stars #astrophotography #astronomy #night #sky #nebula #nature #beautiful #nebulae #ic2944 #star #cosmos #cluster

Chasing the chicken by Astro-Tanja on Flickr.

(NASA) The eggs from this chicken may form into stars. The above pictured emission nebula, cataloged as IC 2944, is called the Running Chicken Nebula for the shape of its greater appearance. The image was taken recently from Siding Spring Observatory in Australia and presented in scientifically assigned colors. Seen near the center of the image are small, dark molecular clouds rich in obscuring cosmic dust. Called Thackeray’s Globules for their discoverer, these “eggs” are potential sites for the gravitational condensation of new stars, although their fates are uncertain as they are also being rapidly eroded away by the intense radiation from nearby young stars. Together with patchy glowing gas and complex regions of reflecting dust, these massive and energetic stars form the open cluster Collinder 249. This gorgeous skyscape spans about 70 light-years at the nebula’s estimated 6,000 light-year distance.