Running Chicken Nebula (IC 2944)

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clic here for 50% size 2004 x 1335 (1089 kB)


About this Image

Around Lamda Centauri there is an extended group of emission nebulae, (IC 2944, IC 2948) its visual appearance was the base to the popular name Running Ckicken.
Dark "Bok globules" - small dark clouds made of gas and dust that are typically condensing to form a star - are found in the center of this glowing H II region as well as shock fronts caused by stellar wind. Below there is a smaller nebula IC 2872 and to the right the dense open cluster NGC 3766.
The distance to IC 2944 is approx. 7000 light years.
North is right.

Below you find a crop on IC 2944 in 40/80%.

clic for 80% size 848 x 893 (262 kB)


Technical Details
Optics

105mm TMB refractor with flattener at f/6.5

Mount AP-400 GEM
Camera SBIG STL-11000M at -20C, internal filter wheel
Filters Astronomik H-alpha (15 nm) + RGB
Date Aug 08/12, 2004.
Location Hakos/Namibia
Sky Conditions mag 6.5, high transparency, temperature 12 C,
Exposure Ha = 60 minutes (10-minute sub-exposures),
RGB= 15:15:15 min (5-minute sub-exposures)
all 1x1.
Processing Image aquisition in Maxim DL 4.0; Image calibration, aligning, mean stacking, DDP and color synthesis in ImagesPlus;
Photoshop: H-alpha blended to red and L channel, color balance;