IC 2872 and RCW 60

Constellation: Centaurus

IC 2872 (or Gum 40, northern nebulosity) and Gum 39 (southern nebulosity) are two emission nebulae in the constellation of Centaurus. Both nebulae are part of the Running Chicken nebula complex (IC 2944), about 6.500 light years from earth, and correspond to the ‘head’ (Gum 39) and the ‘wattles’ (Gum 40) of the ‘chicken’. Further south, one can see the small reflection nebula BRAN 362D around the young stellar object candidate UCAC4 135-056123. Link to interactive sky chart.

Dates:

This is derived from the outstanding data taken by Martin Pugh during February and March 2025 (Martin’s website: Remote Astrophotography with Martin Pugh (martinpughastrophotography.space).

His telescope is located in Chile (Observatory: El Sauce).

Colour palette is HaRGB.

Telescope & Mount:

Planewave CDK24 with 0.66x reducer (F/4.37) on a Planewave L600 mount.

Imaging:

Image 1:
Camera: Moravian G3-61000 (bin 2×2)

Data:
Nebula:
Astrodon Ha: 47x300s
Astrodon Lum: 23×300
Astrodon R: 26x300s
Astrodon G: 24x300s
Astrodon B: 25x300s

Total integration time: 12h 5′