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The Bridge: Discuss an Astronomy Picture of the Day • APOD: CG4: The Globule and the Galaxy (2024 May 21)

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I always want to put things in perspective.


Why is that globule cometary? What made it open its mouth? Nearby hot bright stars, sure. What stars?

I found the coordinates for CG4, which is the name of this thing, and saw that it is located relatively close to Gamma Velorum, an enormous powerhouse in constellation Vela, the Sail. So I googled CG4 + Gamma Velorum and found... nothing.

This is the best I can do to show you where CG4 is in relation to Gamma Velorum:


Gama Velorum and this way to CG4 Gendler Columbari.png
This way to CG4.

To show you why it is important to put cometary globules into perspective, consider another such globule, the Dark Tower in Scorpius:

Dark Tower in Scorpius and NGC 6231 by Gerald Rhemann.png
The Dark Tower in Scorpius and star cluster NGC 6231.
Credit: Gerald Rehmann.

So, yeah. Perspective is important. Gerald Rehmann showed us why the Dark Tower in Scorpius and the massive open cluster NGC 6231 belong together. Now we really need a picture that shows us Gamma Velorum and CG4 in the same frame.

Oh, and... why has CG4 ruptured? How about Gamma Velorum released a jet of energy some time in the past, and CG4 took a direct hit? Perhaps the Wolf-Rayet component of Gamma Velorum had an outburst? It's a mean thing, Gamma Velorum.

And that galaxy that CG4 appears to be eating? Oh, it's PGC 21338, also known as ESO 257-19. It may have an active galactic nucleus, said Simbad. What's the distance to that thing? I don't know!

Ann

Statistics: Posted by Ann — Tue May 21, 2024 4:49 am — Replies 1 — Views 37



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