This area of the southern constellation Centaurus
is dominated by an open cluster of stars and the
associated emission nebula. The area imaged here
is only part of a much larger object (often called
"the running chicken" nebula). The striking dark
blobs floating across the middle of this image are
Bok Globules. These concentrations of gas and dust
are often associated with the formation of new
stars, though in this case they seem rather to
be the final remnants of a larger area of gas and
dust that has been broken up by the radiation from
the nearby stars.

Image data:
Telescope: Planewave 17"
Camera: SBIG STXL 11002
Exposure: 22 1/2 hours total
(through Red, Green, Blue, Hydrogen-alpha, Oxygen-III and Sulfur-II filters)
Location: Heaven's Mirror Observatory, Yass, New South Wales, Australia