Bright nebulae abound in and around the expansive southern constellation of Centaurus. This one, cataloged as IC 2948/2944 is near the star Lambda Centauri (just in the center of the frame) and not far on the sky from the better known Eta Carinae Nebula. Embedded in the reddish glowing cloud of hydrogen gas, typical of emission nebulae found in massive star-forming regions, is the energetic young star cluster Collinder 249. Seen in silhouette near the center of the view are small, dark clouds of obscuring cosmic dust. Called Thackeray's Globules for their discoverer, they are potential sites for the formation of new stars, but are likely being eroded by the intense radiation from the nearby young stars. Of course, gazing at the center of the region suggests to some IC 2948's popular name - The Running Chicken Nebula. The gorgeous skyscape spans about 70 light-years at the nebula's estimated 6,000 light-year distance (text adapted from APOD). Apo TEC140 (140/f7.2) - FLI Proline 16803 - Ha (150m) R (80m) G (80m) B (90m) - Warrumbungle Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia
The first hint of what will become of our Sun was discovered inadvertently in 1764. At that time, Charles Messier was compiling a list of diffuse objects not to be confused with comets. The 27th object on Messier's list, now known as M27 or the Dumbbell Nebula, is a planetary nebula, the type of nebula our Sun will produce when nuclear fusion stops in its core. M27 is one of the brightest planetary nebulae on the sky, and can be seen toward the constellation of the Fox (Vulpecula) with binoculars. It takes light about 1000 years to reach us from M27. Understanding the physics and significance of M27 was well beyond 18th century science. Even today, many things remain mysterious about bipolar planetary nebula like M27, including the physical mechanism that expels a low-mass star's gaseous outer-envelope, leaving an X-ray hot white dwarf (text adapted from APOD). Apo TEC140 (140/f7.2) - FLI Proline 16803 - Ha (150m) OIII (290m) R (60m) G (70m) B (60m) - Warrumbungle Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia
Wisps of dust fill the space between the stars. This dust is usually invisible, subtly acting to dim the light of more distant stars. Sometimes this dust is thick and prominent as dark patches on otherwise bright emission nebulae. Other times this dust may show itself by reflecting the light of bright, nearby stars. Because bright stars tend to be blue, and because dust reflects blue light more easily than red, the resulting reflection nebula usually appears blue. Pictured above is the reflection nebula Sharpless 2-1 in the constellation of Scorpius (text adapted from APOD). This is a mosaic of 2 panels. Apo TEC140 (140/f7.2) - FLI Proline 16803 - Ha (300m) L (250m) R (140m) G (110m) B (120m) - Warrumbungle Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia
