APOD: 2026 March 11 Б CG 4: The Globule and the Galaxy
Explanation:
Is this a cosmic monster ready to devour an unsuspecting galaxy?
Thankfully, that is not the case.
The red БmonsterБ shown in the featured
image is
Cometary Globule CG
4, 1,300 light-years away in the Constellation
Puppis.
CG 4 is a molecular
cloud, where hydrogen
becomes cold enough to form molecules
that can be brought together by gravity to create
stars.
The shape of CG 4 resembles
that of a comet,
but its head is 1.5 light-year
in diameter and its tail is 8 light-years long; for comparison, the distance from
the Earth to the sun is only 8
light-minutes.
Astronomers believe that
the tail of a cometary globule could have been shaped by a nearby supernova explosion
or by irradiation from hot, massive stars. Indeed, CG 4 and other nearby globules
point away from the
Vela
Supernova Remnant, at the center of the
Gum Nebula.
The edge-on spiral galaxy,
ESO 257-19, is more than a hundred million light-years beyond CG 4, and is completely
safe from the БmonsterБ.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
