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IC2944 · Running Chicken Nebula

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Running Chicken Nebula
Credit T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and N.S. van der Bliek… · CC BY 4.0
Chinese name奔跑的鸡星云
TypeEmission nebula
ConstellationCen
RA11h36m
Dec−63°
Apparent magnitude4.5ᵐ
HemisphereSouthern
Best seasonSpring
DifficultyEasy
Focal length短—中焦 300–600mm

About

About 6,500 light-years away, the Running Chicken Nebula is a large red emission region around Lambda Centauri, named for an outline resembling a running fowl. It hosts the famous Thackeray's Globules — dense dark dust clumps being eroded by surrounding hot stars. The wide southern field renders beautifully in both SHO and HOO narrowband.