[atalas]

Hi All

At a approximate distance of 8200ly,in the constellation of Centaurus lies a very large(1.5 deg) emission nebula designated IC 2944(The Running Chicken Neb).

This nebula extends south east from the bright star Lambda Centauri which is a foreground star and is not responsible for igniting the nebula.

The loose cluster known as Cr 249 which is populated by a number of hot O-type stars is the culprit for this southern burst of excitement.

Shot through a ZS 66SD and guided with a ZS110 on a AP600E mount using the SXV-H9C.
Exposure time was 10 minutes x 20 and preprocessing done in AA3 and post-processing in CS2.

A larger image can be found at my site.

Hope you enjoy