Running Chicken

The Running Chicken Nebula (Lambda Centauri Nebula) is an emission nebula with an open cluster located approximately 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. With an apparent magnitude of 4.5 and an apparent size of 75 arcminutes, it can be observed in binoculars and small telescopes. The nebula is listed as IC 2944 in the Index Catalogue and Caldwell 100 in the Caldwell catalogue of deep sky objects visible in amateur telescopes.

The Lambda Centauri Nebula was nicknamed the Running Chicken because some observers find that it has a bird-like shape. However, there is no consensus on which part of the extended nebula complex forms the cosmic Chicken’s head, feet and rear end.

The nebula is a vast region of hydrogen gas and dust populated by young, blue, exceptionally hot stars. The stellar winds and intense ultraviolet radiation from these stars carve and erode the nebular material. At the same time, the ultraviolet light of the young stars energizes the nebula and makes it glow. In a few million years, the most massive of these blue stars will go out as supernovae.