Thackeray's globules in IC 2944. Hubble Space Telescope image of Thackeray's globules (dark regions) in the emission nebula IC 2944. These dense clouds of dust and gas, also known as Bok globules, are located in the bright star-forming IC 2944. This lies around 5900 light years from Earth, in the constellation Centaurus. The globules contain material that is 15 times the mass of the Sun, churned up by the hot young stars in the surrounding nebula. The globules may eventually be dissipated by energy from these stars. Image taken by the WFPC2 camera.