IC 2944
Encyclopedia
IC 2944, also known as the Running Chicken Nebula or the Lambda Cen Nebula, is an open cluster
with an associated emission nebula
found in the constellation Centaurus
, near the star Lambda Centauri
. It features Bok globule
s and is most likely a site of active star formation.
The Hubble Space Telescope
image on the right is a close up of a set of Bok globules discovered in IC 2944 by South Africa
n astronomer
A. David Thackeray
in 1950. These globules are now known as Thackeray's Globules.
Open cluster
An open cluster is a group of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way Galaxy, and many more are thought to exist...
with an associated emission nebula
Emission nebula
An emission nebula is a cloud of ionized gas emitting light of various colors. The most common source of ionization is high-energy photons emitted from a nearby hot star...
found in the constellation Centaurus
Centaurus
Centaurus is a bright constellation in the southern sky. One of the largest constellations, Centaurus was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations.-Stars:...
, near the star Lambda Centauri
Lambda Centauri
Lambda Centauri is a star in the constellation Centaurus. λ Centauri is a blue-white B-type giant with an apparent magnitude of +3.11. It is approximately 410 light years from Earth....
. It features Bok globule
Bok globule
Bok globules are dark clouds of dense cosmic dust and gas in which star formation sometimes takes place. Bok globules are found within H II regions, and typically have a mass of about 2 to 50 solar masses contained within a region about a light year or so across...
s and is most likely a site of active star formation.
The Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
image on the right is a close up of a set of Bok globules discovered in IC 2944 by South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
A. David Thackeray
A. David Thackeray
Andrew David Thackeray , was an astronomer trained at Cambridge University.He went to school at Eton College and studied mathematics at King's College, Cambridge. He received a PhD on theoretical stellar spectroscopy in 1937 from the Solar Physics Laboratory in Cambridge...
in 1950. These globules are now known as Thackeray's Globules.