Description:
RCW 85 is a faint emission nebula and star-forming region located in the southern skies of Centaurus, roughly 5,000 light-years away. Often nicknamed the “Devil’s Tower” or “Volcano Nebula” because of its towering dark structures and dramatic ionisation fronts, the region is shaped by intense ultraviolet radiation from nearby young massive stars.
The nebula is part of an H II region catalogued in the RCW catalogue of southern emission nebulae. Bright ridges of glowing hydrogen outline dense molecular clouds being eroded by stellar winds, while dark dusty pillars and globules hint at ongoing star formation hidden within the cloud.