Explanation: 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. 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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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami: IC 2944 - emission nebula - star formation - emissionnaya tumannost' - Molekulyarnye oblaka - zvezdoobrazovanie Publikacii so slovami: IC 2944 - emission nebula - star formation - emissionnaya tumannost' - Molekulyarnye oblaka - zvezdoobrazovanie
Sm. takzhe: NGC 7714: vspyshka zvezdoobrazovaniya posle stolknoveniya galaktik Tumannost' Chaika NGC 2170: abstraktnaya kartina s tumannost'yu Angel Tumannost' Chaika nad skaloi Pinnakls Tumannost' Konus ot teleskopa imeni Habbla NGC 1893 i Golovastiki v IC 410 Svet, temnota i pyl' Vse publikacii na tu zhe temu >>