Thackeray's Globules
An array of dark Bok globules can be seen in silhouette against the emission nebula IC 2944. Known as Thackeray's Globules, named after the discoverer, these types of dark clouds of gas are typically the sites of star formation. Each cloud contains enough gas to form several stars. However, the globules in IC 2944 are being torn apart by the intense light from the hot, massive and bright stars surrounding them. There is no evidence that stars are forming in any of these globules.
| Observatory: | Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Cerro Tololo, Chile |
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| Telescope: | CTIO 4-Meter |
| Instrument: | Mosaic II |
| Astronomer: | T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and N.S. van der Bliek (NOAO/AURA/NSF) |
| Date of Observation: | 02-08-2012 |
| Filters and Assigned Colors: | B (blue), I (orange) and Hydrogen-Alpha (yellow) |
| Exposure Times: | 5x5min in B, 5x3min in I, 5x8min in H-alpha |
| Location of Image: | Centaurus |
| Field of View: | 6.7 x 9.2 arcmin |
| Orientation: | North is to the right, East is up |
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| Link to Full Resolution Image | |
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