In the constellation Centaurus, approximately 6,500 light-years from Earth, lies the emission nebula IC 2944. Within it we can see the region known as IC2948, a stellar nursery immersed in ionized hydrogen and cosmic dust.
Poetically known as the “Running Chicken Nebula,” it harbors intense regions of star formation, where winds and radiation from young stars sculpt clouds into dramatic shapes.
Of particular note are Thackeray’s Globules — dark silhouettes against the pinkish and blueish background — cosmic seeds that resist stellar collapse or perhaps hide stars in gestation.
The colorful palette, revealed by the narrowband filter Optolong L-ultimate (Ha and OIII), translates chemical elements into visual poetry, with hydrogen tinting the sky magenta and oxygen revealing itself in bluish tones.
A spectacle of birth and transformation, where chaos generates light and darkness holds the promise of new stars.
Telescope: Apocromatic Askar Apo103.
Camera: ZWO ASI533Mc Pro.
Filters: Optolong L-ultimate (169 x 90s)
Capture: April 27 and 29, 2025; May 2 and 3, 2025.
City: Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
Bortle: 7/8