Drifting through the southern skies in the constellation Centaurus, NGC 5367 is a hauntingly beautiful reflection nebula embedded in a dark molecular cloud complex. The wispy blue glow near the center is caused by starlight scattering off interstellar dust, primarily from a young binary star system still forming within the nebula’s opaque folds. This LRGB image reveals the full extent of the surrounding dust structures, illuminated not only by the central stars but also by the ambient starlight of the Milky Way, producing an ethereal interplay between light and shadow.

Captured with exquisite depth and detail, this image showcases the delicate filaments and ghostlike clouds that typify this under-observed region. NGC 5367 lies roughly 2,000 light-years away and is part of the larger cometary globule CG 12. Though visually faint, these kinds of nebulae are astrophysical laboratories—harboring nascent stars, turbulent gas dynamics, and cosmic dust grains that eventually seed planetary systems. The composition’s expansive framing and faint surrounding structures make it not just a target of scientific interest, but a portrait of interstellar stillness.

Image Description and Details :

NGC 5367 is a reflection nebula associated with the cometary globule CG12 in the Centaurus constellation. Dicovered in 1976 on an ESO/SRC Sky Survey plate taken with the UK Schmidt telescope, CG12 is in contrast to the most other Cometary Globules, because it is far away from the galactic disk.The nebula NGC 5367 (also catalogued as IC 4347) reflects light from two bluish stars of the binary system h4636 (the stars are from spectral type B4 and B7).Location: El Sauce Observatory, Rio Hurtado, ChileDates of Capture July & August 2020L 23 x 1200secR 15 x 1200secG 15 x 1200secB 16 x 1200secOptics: Planewave 17“ CDK @ F6.8Mount: Paramount MECCD: SBIG STXL-11002 (AOX)Pre Processing: CCDstack & PixinsightPost Processing: Photoshop CC

Copyright Information:

Data acquisition: Martin PUGHProcessing: Nicolas ROLLAND