Running chicken spotted in space: image obtained by VLT telescope

The VLT International Telescope, part of the European Southern Observatory, has taken a stunning image of the Running Chicken Nebula.

This nebula is located 6,500 light years from Earth and is one of the closest large star clusters to us. It has the size of about 25 full moons in the sky, so it cannot be photographed at one time.

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To create the mosaic, the VLT took hundreds of frames carefully stitched together. The result is an image of 1.5 billion pixels, showing in detail many areas of the nebula, writes IFLScience.

The brightest element in the nebula is IC 2948, which is the main structure in the star cluster. At the center of the nebula is IC 2944, an almost pillar-shaped vertical structure.

Next to IC 2944 is the star Lambda Centauri, visible to the naked eye. This star is much closer to us than the nebula and is not associated with it.

You can also see other structures separated from the main nebula in the mosaic, such as Gum 39 and 40, as well as Gum 41. If you zoom in on the image, you can see a baby star just born from the nebula, as well as Side Globules - dark areas of dense gas and dust.

This stunning image is a great gift for all space enthusiasts.

Earlier, a Christmas tree was spotted in space .

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