APOD: 2022 April 19 - Stars and Globules in the Running Chicken Nebula

Good evening, Rallypoint, and welcome to the April 19th Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "Stars and Globules in the Running Chicken Nebula." Where else would you find Bok (bok bok bok) Globules but the Running Chicken Nebula? Bok globules were first observed by astronomer Bart Bok in the 1940s. The Running Chicken Nebula, also known as the Lambda Centauri Nebula, is an open star cluster with an associated emission nebula found near the star Lambda Centauri in the constellation Centaurus. In 1950, astronomer David Thackery identified a collection of Bok globules in the nebula, and recent data identified 6 separate stars in the largest globule. They are now known as Thackery's Globules. This finding supports the original theory proposed by Bok, that the globules are dense cosmic dust and gas "eggs" from which star formation may take place. So which came first? The Chicken? or the Egg?