APOD: 2023 January 4 – CG4: The Globule and the Galaxy

Our second APOD for today is "CG4: The Globule and the Galaxy." The term 'CG' refers to a cometary globule (or Bok globule). A Bok globule is an isolated and relatively small dark nebula that contains a dense concentration of cosmic dust and gas. They can serve as star nurseries. A cometary globule includes a long dust tail resembling a comet.

Shown here is CG 4, a star-forming region located in the southern constellation Puppis and about 1,300 light-years from Earth (the galaxy that appears to be a snack for this cosmic pacman is several million light years further away). CG 4, and other nearby cometary globules, generally point away from the Vela Supernova Remnant, located at the center of the Gum Nebula.