There are many bright nebulae in and around the vast southern constellation of Centaurus. The nebula shown here, catalogued as IC 2948/2944, is located near the star Lambda Centauri and not far from the more famous Eta Carinae nebula. Embedded in the reddish glowing cloud of hydrogen gas, typical of emission nebulae in massive star-forming regions, the energetic young star cluster Collinder 249 can be seen in the silhouette at the upper edge of the image, small, dark clouds of darkening cosmic dust. These globules are potential sites for the formation of new stars, but are likely to be eroded by the intense radiation of nearby young stars. The beautiful cloud landscape stretches over about 70 light years at an estimated distance of 6,000 light years.