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Emission nebula

The Running Chicken Nebula

Also IC 2944 · Lambda Centauri Nebula

Open in Ouranos

A glowing nebula in Centaurus dotted with small dark clouds called Thackeray's globules.

Measured

Distance
7,706 light-years
Constellation
Centaurus
Position (J2000)
RA 11h 38m 24s, Dec −63.38°

How far, from the Sun

7,710 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light7,710 years
  • Voyager 1's speed137 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h83.2 billion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • Thackeray's globules are dense clumps of dust silhouetted against the glow.
  • It is lit by the hot young stars of the cluster Collinder 249.

Where this comes from

  • Hunt & Reffert 2023, A&A 673, A114: Gaia DR3 cluster distance 2362.7 pc (16th–84th percentile 2342.8–2383.1 pc)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.