IC 2944
Sign in to saveAlso known as Running Chicken Nebula, Lambda Cen Nebula, Caldwell 100, C 100
H II region and open cluster in the constellation Centaurus
Key facts
- Right ascension
- 11 36 36.0
- Declination
- −63 ° 02 ′ 00 ″
- Distance
- 6500 ly
- Apparent dimensions v
- 75'
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Radius
- 71 ly
- Notable features
- open cluster with nebulosity, Bok globules
- Designations
- IC 2944, RCW 62, Running Chicken Nebula, Lambda Cen Nebula, Caldwell 100.
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Distance from Earth
- 1794
- Image
- The Very Large Telescope Snaps a Stellar Nursery and Celebrates Fifteen Years of Operations.jpg
Show 10 more facts
- right ascension
- 174.583330
- declination
- -63.372780
- catalog code
- C 1134-627
- spectral class
- M2Ibpe+...
- Commons category
- IC 2944
- time of discovery or invention
- 1904-05-05
- apparent magnitude
- 4.5
- radial velocity
- -0.9
- right ascension component of proper motion
- -6.05
- declination component of proper motion
- -0.38
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~1 min read
Article
IC 2944/8 image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope IC 2944, also known as the Running Chicken Nebula, the Lambda Centauri Nebula or the λ Centauri Nebula, is an open cluster with an associated emission nebula found in the constellation Centaurus, near the star λ Centauri. It features Bok globules, which are frequently a site of active star formation. However, no evidence for star formation has been found in any of the globules in IC 2944. Other designations for IC 2944 include RCW 62, G40 and G42.
The ESO Very Large Telescope image on the right is a close up of a set of Bok globules discovered in IC 2944 by astronomer A. David Thackeray in 1950. These globules are now known as Thackeray's Globules. In 2MASS images, 6 stars are visible within the largest globule.