IC 2944 (Lambda Centauri Nebula)
IC 2944 or Caldwell 100 (also known as the Lambda Centauri Nebula and Running Chicken Nebula) is a diffuse nebula and open cluster in the constellation Centaurus. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.5 and its angular diameter is 15 arc-minutes. IC 2944 lies at an estimated distance of 6000 light years. The Equinox 2000 coordinates are 11h 36.6m, -63° 02´ which makes IC 2944 a Southern Hemisphere object that is best seen during the spring. The Caldwell Spring Star Chart shows the position of all Caldwell objects visible during that season. Visit the Caldwell Catalog Photo Gallery to see more objects from this catalog. As one of the more famous objects in the Caldwell Catalog, it is commonly known as the Lambda Centauri Nebula.
The nebula features Bok globules, which are frequently a site of active star formation. However, no evidence for star formation has been found in any of the globules in IC 2944.. See Wikipedia for more information.
Technical Details
- Object: IC 2944
- Other Names: Running Chicken Nebula, Lambda Centauri Nebula, Caldwell 100
- Object Type: diffuse nebula
- Object Data: Apparent Magnitude = 4.5, Angular Size = 15 arc-minutes
- Object Position (Equinox 2000): 11h 36.6m, -63° 02´, Constellation = Centaurus
- Date: 2021 Feb 05 - Feb 08 (4 nights)
- Location: Chile Remote Observatory, Observatorio El Sauce, Chile
- Partnership: Operated in partnership with David Churchill
- Telescope: Astro-Physics AP155 EDF Refractor (with Focal Reducer: f/5.4; FL = 836mm)
- Camera: FLI ML29050 with Integral 7-position Filter Wheel
- Mount: Astro-Physics 1600GTO
- Guider: Agena Starguide II / SBIG STi
- Sub-Exposures: Astronomik Filters
- Luminance: 59x10 min = 590 min
- Red: 24 x 10 min = 240 min
- Green: 24 x 10 min = 240 min
- Blue: 24 x 10 min = 240 min - Total Exposure: 21h 50m
- File Name: IC2944-EDF21-C01w.jpg
- Field of View: 83.0' x 124.3' at 1.36 arc-sec/pixel
- Original Image Size: 4408 x 6600 pixels (29.1 MP); 14.7" x 22.0" @ 300 dpi
- Data Acquisition: David Churchill
- Image Processing: Fred Espenak
- Maxim DL: Image Calibration, Stacking, Digital Development Processing
- Adobe Camera Raw: Noise Reduction
- Photoshop CC: Curves, Levels
- Topaz Labs: Sharpen AI - Copyright: Fred Espenak