Well on Friday night I was determined to expose the chook for all to see. However, under Bortle 6 skies this turned out to be much more diffilcult than I thought it would be. I did gather enough data to show what I think is the Running Chicken and on further investigation I believe this to be a Silkie Chicken.
My previous post of this object revealed only the body, so to make sure no part of this fowl would be missing I used an old Pentax 135mm lens to capture a widefield of the area. Exposure was 30 X 3mins @ f8 800iso, modded Canon 550d on an HEQ5pro mount.
I think this is one of the most poorly named nebulae. I have a hard time seeing the chicken in any image.
You might get another chance at it soon - fantastically clear weather coming apparently (bit of a glitch in the forecast):
I agree Tony but I have had some fun with it's strange name. I think IC 2944 is much better. Good luck with CFN forecast, it looks great but conflicts with the weather forecast for this week. Showers nearly every day but hey, they've been wrong before. Also, if you want dark skies, you better get some sleep early so you can be up photographing before sunrise! The moon will be up for a good part of the night.
I wouldn’t ruin a good capture by trying to convince either yourself or others that there is anything that even remotely looks like a chicken in there. I think it was a case of letting the work experience have a go at naming something. Anyway, well done on you capture. There’s a little, almost perfectly round cluster just to the right of the main neb that looks quite interesting.
Tony,
I know that no moon, no cloud, no wind etc etc might seem like a glitch but have you considered it might also be a forecast for the apocalypse?
Great detective work Mick, you've helped me to identify all the body parts necessary for framing this object. Your contribution is by no means poultry & your images are not too fowl either.
Cheers,
Tony
Great detective work Mick, you've helped me to identify all the body parts necessary for framing this object. Your contribution is by no means poultry & your images are not too fowl either.
Cheers,
Tony
Love it Tony, a bit of humour in the forum lightens things up. I have been told however, not to overdo the puns in my titles, so I've learnt my lesson and now keep them simple.
Lovely work Mick, another great wide field of that region with a plethora of stars or should I say chicken salt to stimulate our taste buds. 'The Colonel' would be proud!
Is it just me or does the surrounding dark nebula look like its shadow?
I have been told however, not to overdo the puns in my titles, so I've learnt my lesson and now keep them simple. 
