November 22, 2024

Unprecedented Detail: The Running Chicken Nebula Captured in 1.5-Billion-Pixel Masterpiece

The so-called Running Chicken Nebula, home to young stars in the making, is revealed in magnificent detail in this 1.5-billion-pixel image recorded by the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at ESOs Paranal site in Chile.This huge stellar nursery is situated in the constellation Centaurus (the Centaur), at about 6500 light-years from Earth. Young stars within this nebula discharge intense radiation that makes the surrounding hydrogen gas radiance in tones of pink.The Running Chicken Nebula really consists of several areas, all of which we can see in this vast image that spans an area in the sky of about 25 full Moons. The brightest twinkle in this particular region is Lambda Centauri, a star visible to the naked eye that is much closer to us than the nebula itself.The Running Chicken Nebula makes up numerous clouds, the most prominent of which are identified in this huge image from the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at ESOs Paranal site.

The Running Chicken Nebula comprises several clouds, all of which we can see in this vast image from the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at ESOs Paranal site. The so-called Running Chicken Nebula, home to young stars in the making, is revealed in spectacular detail in this 1.5-billion-pixel image captured by the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at ESOs Paranal website in Chile.This vast excellent nursery is located in the constellation Centaurus (the Centaur), at about 6500 light-years from Earth. Young stars within this nebula discharge extreme radiation that makes the surrounding hydrogen gas radiance in shades of pink.The Running Chicken Nebula in fact consists of several areas, all of which we can see in this huge image that covers an area in the sky of about 25 complete Moons. The brightest twinkle in this specific region is Lambda Centauri, a star noticeable to the naked eye that is much closer to us than the nebula itself.The Running Chicken Nebula comprises numerous clouds, the most prominent of which are identified in this large image from the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at ESOs Paranal website. The star cluster IC 2948, associated with this nebula, is quickly seen in a small telescope, the nebula is extremely faint and was only found photographically early in the 20th century.