APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

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APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by APOD Robot » Tue May 31, 2016 4:07 am

Image Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken Nebula

Explanation: To some, it looks like a giant chicken running across the sky. To others, it looks like a gaseous nebula where star formation takes place. Cataloged as IC 2944, the Running Chicken Nebula spans about 100 light years and lies about 6,000 light years away toward the constellation of the Centaur (Centaurus). The featured image, shown in scientifically assigned colors, was captured recently in an 11-hour exposure from a backyard near Melbourne, Australia. Two star clusters are visible: the Pearl Cluster seen on the far left, and Collinder 249 embedded in the nebula's glowing gas. Although difficult to discern here, several dark molecular clouds with distinct shapes can be found inside the nebula.

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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by Ann » Tue May 31, 2016 4:17 am

Most of the energy ionizing IC 2944 comes from the cluster Collinder 249, which, when I checked it with my software, seemed to contain as many as five O-type stars. Follow the link to see a great portrait of this remarkable cluster, seen there in unscientific colors.

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Evil Snail

Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by Evil Snail » Tue May 31, 2016 4:49 am

I ain't no chicken and I ain't running.

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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by neufer » Tue May 31, 2016 10:50 am

Evil Snail wrote:
I ain't no chicken and I ain't running.
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=35949&p=258033#p258098 wrote:
Unless we redefine “chicken” to include extraterrestrial clades with phylogenies similar to those of Metazoa.
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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by Ann » Tue May 31, 2016 12:16 pm

Image

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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by neufer » Tue May 31, 2016 12:35 pm

Big Bird isn't clad with anything (and he certainly is not running).
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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by Cousin Ricky » Tue May 31, 2016 1:00 pm

Does anyone else see the Flying Spaghetti Monster in this?

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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by TreeSaw » Tue May 31, 2016 1:18 pm

This reminds me of the aliens in the movie Jimmy Neutron : Boy Genius.
King Goobot V (voiced by Patrick Stewart).

:D Every time I look at it, I can see the googly eyes.

Andy01

Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by Andy01 » Tue May 31, 2016 1:32 pm

Honestly, I photographed it and I still cannot see a chicken- maybe the AAO folks were missing their KFC when they named it that night? If it were discovered now it would most likely be named the Gungan or Krumm Nebula :)
Glad you liked the image though, cheers!
Andy

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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by Fred the Cat » Tue May 31, 2016 2:51 pm

I can't speak to the "Stars" but the" Gas of the Running Chicken" Nebula is evidence of an extremely large chicken nearby and could prove – they can! So keep looking Andy and keep up the good work. :thumb_up:

And looking at tomorrow's teaser -maybe stars can to? :ssmile:
Freddy's Felicity "Only ascertain as a cat box survivor"

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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by Ann » Tue May 31, 2016 4:19 pm

Andy01 wrote:Honestly, I photographed it and I still cannot see a chicken- maybe the AAO folks were missing their KFC when they named it that night? If it were discovered now it would most likely be named the Gungan or Krumm Nebula :)
Glad you liked the image though, cheers!
Andy
Your Big Chicken isn't running, he's doing a split.

See? Orange head to the upper left. See the blue eye? Rather misshapen orange beak pointing to the right. One orange foot doing a very enthusiastic split, so that it is located in the upper right corner. One arm (or possibly foot) is pointing to the lower left, towards the Pearl Cluster in the lower left corner. One misshapen (or missing) foot is pointing generally down, so that it would be seen at bottom center, if it was there.

Duckie's tummy is blue. I think he has a ferocious case of flatulence.

Quack!

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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by Asterhole » Tue May 31, 2016 4:41 pm

Hm - Running Chicken Nebula? Running from what? The Colonel Sanders Nebula?
They're all wasted!

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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by Fred the Cat » Tue May 31, 2016 4:46 pm

Ann wrote:
Andy01 wrote:Honestly, I photographed it and I still cannot see a chicken- maybe the AAO folks were missing their KFC when they named it that night? If it were discovered now it would most likely be named the Gungan or Krumm Nebula :)
Glad you liked the image though, cheers!
Andy
Your Big Chicken isn't running, he's doing a split.

See? Orange head to the upper left. See the blue eye? Rather misshapen orange beak pointing to the right. One orange foot doing a very enthusiastic split, so that it is located in the upper right corner. One arm (or possibly foot) is pointing to the lower left, towards the Pearl Cluster in the lower left corner. One misshapen (or missing) foot is pointing generally down, so that it would be seen at bottom center, if it was there.

Duckie's tummy is blue. I think he has a ferocious case of flatulence.

Quack!

Ann
As the gas clears – this may actually turn into a "duck" of different color.
RuddyDuck.jpg
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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by neufer » Tue May 31, 2016 5:58 pm


Asterhole wrote:
Hm - Running Chicken Nebula?
Running from what? The Colonel Sanders Nebula?
The Tweedy Atlas of Ancient Planetary Nebulae
& Their Interaction with the Interstellar Medium.
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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by geckzilla » Tue May 31, 2016 11:57 pm

This is one of those nebulas, when viewed north up, I have no issues seeing the chicken in. When it's turned sideways and imaged in narrowband it is much harder for me to see. Here's a north-up DSS view with my outlines showing it how I see it. No doubt there are other interpretations. I have hopes this time that this interpretation is also what someone else saw when they named the nebula.
running_chicken.jpg
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Onedad01

Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by Onedad01 » Wed Jun 01, 2016 5:21 am

geckzilla wrote:This is one of those nebulas, when viewed north up, I have no issues seeing the chicken in. When it's turned sideways and imaged in narrowband it is much harder for me to see. Here's a north-up DSS view with my outlines showing it how I see it. No doubt there are other interpretations. I have hopes this time that this interpretation is also what someone else saw when they named the nebula.

running_chicken.jpg
That's surprisingly useful, thanks for posting!


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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by DavidLeodis » Wed Jun 01, 2016 2:06 pm

I don't see the point of the image brought up through the "scientifically assigned colors" link as it gives no information as to what the image's assigned colors are. They may be the Hubble Palette colors but could be another palette. :?

Also there seemed to be no point astronomically speaking of the information brought up through the "249" link which I expected would bring up information on Collinder 249. :roll:

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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by Fred the Cat » Wed Jun 01, 2016 6:06 pm

Cluck about chickens all you want but this guy is a running chicken. He never runs out of gas and does seem to be the star of the show. :?
Freddy's Felicity "Only ascertain as a cat box survivor"

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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by Onedad01 » Wed Jun 01, 2016 11:57 pm

DavidLeodis wrote:I don't see the point of the image brought up through the "scientifically assigned colors" link as it gives no information as to what the image's assigned colors are. They may be the Hubble Palette colors but could be another palette. :?
David, when I processed the image, the colours were assigned as follows: Ha - Green, O3 - Blue, S2 - Red as per HST (Hubble palatte).
However, as I personally dislike green images of space, I have used selective colour in PS to create an overall more aesthetically pleasing image.
More info on the image here - http://www.astrobin.com/241743/D/
Hope that helps!
Cheers
Andy

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Re: APOD: Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken... (2016 May 31)

Post by DavidLeodis » Thu Jun 02, 2016 5:16 pm

Onedad01 wrote:
DavidLeodis wrote:I don't see the point of the image brought up through the "scientifically assigned colors" link as it gives no information as to what the image's assigned colors are. They may be the Hubble Palette colors but could be another palette. :?
David, when I processed the image, the colours were assigned as follows: Ha - Green, O3 - Blue, S2 - Red as per HST (Hubble palatte).
However, as I personally dislike green images of space, I have used selective colour in PS to create an overall more aesthetically pleasing image.
More info on the image here - http://www.astrobin.com/241743/D/
Hope that helps!
Cheers
Andy
Thanks for your help Andy, which is much appreciated. :)

It's a nice image but more like a gas filled turkey to me despite having just laid an egg (the Pearl Cluster). It needs less hydrogen in its diet!

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