RCW 60 (Gum 39) and IC 2872 (Gum 40)

“Egg in a basket like the perfect puzzle pieces.”

RCW 60 (Gum 39) and IC 2872 (Gum 40) are two emission nebulae in the southern Centaurus constellation, forming part of the Running Chicken nebula complex (IC 2948), about 6,500 light years away. These stellar nurseries are dense gas clouds where new stars form. RCW 60 is the bright nebula to the left, centered around the blue O6 V star HD99897. IC 2872, on the right, stands out as the brightest part of the surrounding diffuse nebula and features two or three bright lobes divided by dust lanes. The region visually resembles an egg in a basket, like fitting puzzle pieces.

Imaged in RGBHa on a Planewave CDK 24 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile. Taken Moravian C5.

24 x 300secc for each R-G-B-HA-O3-S2, 2 pane mosaic 24 total hours

Enjoy,

SWOS Group, Mazlin, Parker, Forman, Magill, Hanson