RCW 61

RCW61 (also known as Gum 41) forms the head of the Running Chicken Nebula (but others say it's the feet).⁣ ⁣ The Nebula is lit by a binary star system. That central point of light is two rare O-type stars in very close orbit around each other, this double star is known as HD 100099. O-type stars are extremely luminous and massive blue stars and in this case due to their close proximity they resolve as a single massive star. The massive amounts of energy emitted by the central binary star system is what has caused the ionization of the surrounding gas as well as hollowing out a cavity around themselves. The circular shape of the nebula also shows the boundary of how far the energy coming of those two stars can reach.⁣ ⁣ O-type stars are also quite volatile and short lived. They tend to end their lives in a supernova or collapsing into a black hole. RCW 61 sits around 7,500 light years from earth.⁣ ⁣