IC2948 - The Running Chicken Heart

Image Description and Details :

* Image acquisition by: Insight Observatory (Franck Jobard at Deep Sky Chile).
* Image processing: Ruben Barbosa

12.5" f/9 Quasar Ritchey Chretien, SBIG STL11000, Losmandy Titan
Frames: Ha: 80x600" (13h 20'), OIII: 73x600" (12h 10')

This new image shows the Running Chicken Nebula, a cloud of gas and newborn stars that lies around 6500 light-years away from us in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur). Officially called IC 2944, or the Lambda Centauri Nebula, its strange nickname comes from the bird-like shape of its brightest region. The star Lambda Centauri itself lies just outside the field of view.

Copyright: Insight Observatory (Franck Jobard) and Ruben Barbosa