The Gum nebula in Vela is close and large but most astronomers have never seen it.
The brightest part is between the open clusters NGC 2547 (upper right) and IC 2391 (lower left).
The attached image from Desktop Universe, which has a limiting magnitude of about 14, shows a large reddish "S" shaped part of this nebula.
I have seen this part of the Gum nebula several times with 20x80 binoculars when sweeping between the above two OC.
The associated dark nebula HMSTG 144 (size 82' x 22') is easy to see.
Gamma2 Velorum is the bright (mag 1.8) star near the top of the image above NGC 2547. The two open clusters are 6 degrees apart.
The OC IC 2395, near the top left in the image, almost forms an equilateral triangle with the other two OC.
