                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2023 January 4
     The featured image shows a distant galaxy on the left next to a gas
   cloud on the right. An opening in the gas cloud is on the same side as
    the galaxy. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                       CG4: The Globule and the Galaxy
             Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby & Mark Hanson

   Explanation: Can a gas cloud eat a galaxy? It's not even close. The
   "claw" of this odd looking "creature" in the featured photo is a gas
   cloud known as a cometary globule. This globule, however, has ruptured.
   Cometary globules are typically characterized by dusty heads and
   elongated tails. These features cause cometary globules to have visual
   similarities to comets, but in reality they are very much different.
   Globules are frequently the birthplaces of stars, and many show very
   young stars in their heads. The reason for the rupture in the head of
   this object is not yet known. The galaxy to the left of the globule is
   huge, very far in the distance, and only placed near CG4 by chance
   superposition.

   Discovery + Outreach: Graduate student research position open for APOD
                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

