Formally, the nebula is known as IC 2872 or Gum 40; however, it is also playfully referred to as the Running Chicken Nebula, according to a statement from the ESO. The wispy, billowing clouds of ...
Inside the bright but unassumingly named nebula Gum 55 lies a dark nebula - a rift of dust grains that absorb visible light - creating a swatch of darkness against the glow of bright gas.