RCW 85 — “The Devil’s Tower” Emission Nebula— RA 14:20:43.23 Dec −61:23:44.1 (J2000)
RCW 85 is an extended H-alpha emission region in Centaurus catalogued in the RCW survey (1960). Situated within the star-forming complex SFR 313.41-0.35 and associated with the O-type star HD 124314, RCW 85 displays bright ionization rims and dark globules across roughly 0.65° on the sky. Estimated distances cluster around ~1.5 kpc (≈4,900 ly), giving it a true size on the order of tens of parsecs and making it a dramatic though seldom-imaged southern H II complex. Galaxy Map+2Vizier+2
Sources & further reading
Spectral / catalogue compilations noting exciting star HD 124314 (O6 V) as associated with RCW 85 / SFO 74. AANDA
RCW (Rodgers, Campbell & Whiteoak) catalog / object pages (RCW 85). Galaxy Map
VizieR / SFR catalog entry (coordinates, SFR cross-IDs, angular parameters). Vizier
Hanson Astrophotography — RCW 85 HII region / SFO 74 (imaging write-up with adopted distance & linear size estimate). Hanson Astrophotography
Astrophotography posts & image pages (AstroBin, Flickr) showing the “Devil’s Tower” nickname and large-field frames. AstroBin+1