This is a view of a spectacular stellar nursery, the Lambda Centauri nebula, IC 2944, also called the Running Chicken Nebula. Lambda Centauri is one of the brightest stars in the constellation Centaurus. This image shows a group of thick clouds of dust known as Thackeray globules silhouetted against the pale pink glowing gas of the nebula. These globules are under fierce bombardment from the ultraviolet radiation from nearby hot young stars. It is likely that the globules will be destroyed before they can collapse and form new stars.