The Running Chicken Nebula
The Running Chicken Nebula comprises several clouds, all of which we can see in this vast image from the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at ESO’s Paranal site. This 1.5-billion pixel image spans an area in the sky of about 25 full Moons. The clouds shown in wispy pink plumes are full of gas and dust, illuminated by the young and hot stars within them.
Credit:ESO/VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgement: CASU
About the Image
| Id: | eso2320a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 21 December 2023, 14:00 |
| Related releases: | eso2320 |
| Size: | 42057 x 37010 px |
About the Object
| Name: | IC 2944, Running Chicken Nebula |
| Type: | Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Emission : H II Region |
| Distance: | 6500 light years |
| Constellation: | Centaurus |
| Category: | Nebulae |
Image Formats
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 11 35 12.02 |
| Position (Dec): | -63° 10' 30.61" |
| Field of view: | 149.99 x 131.99 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 0.0° left of vertical |
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical u | 350 nm | VLT Survey Telescope OmegaCAM |
| Optical g | 480 nm | VLT Survey Telescope OmegaCAM |
| Optical r | 625 nm | VLT Survey Telescope OmegaCAM |
| Optical H-alpha | 659 nm | VLT Survey Telescope OmegaCAM |
| Optical i | 770 nm | VLT Survey Telescope OmegaCAM |