Located in the large southern constellation of Centaraus, we see IC 2948, a bright nebula, which is also near Lambda Centauri and the eta Carina Nebula. Inside the red glowing cloud of hydrogen gas, is the energetic young star cluster IC 2944. Thackeray's Globules, the small dark clouds of obscuring cosmic dust, are potential sites for the formation of new stars, but are probably being eroded by the intense radiation from nearby young stars. If you look closely, you can clearly see the chicken shape, which gives this IC 2948 it's popular name, The Running Chicken Nebula. This entire view spans about 70 light-years, while this nebula is located an estimated 6000 light-years away. It's pretty interesting how you can actually see the running chicken shape inside this skyscape view.
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