Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Astronomy Picture of the Day - CG 30: Cometary Globules
NASA ^ | 28 Apr, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Marcelo Salemme

Posted on 04/28/2026 11:49:50 AM PDT by MtnClimber

Explanation: They're like mountain peaks, but they are forming stars. Bright-rimmed, flowing shapes gather near the center of this rich starfield toward the borders of the nautical southern constellations Puppis and Vela. Composed of interstellar gas and dust, the grouping of light-year sized cometary globules is about 1300 light-years distant. Energetic ultraviolet light from nearby hot stars has molded the globules and ionized their bright rims. The globules also stream away from the Vela supernova remnant which may have influenced their swept-back shapes. Within them, cores of cold gas and dust are likely collapsing to form low mass stars whose formation will ultimately cause the globules to disperse. In fact, cometary globule CG 30 (upper right in the group) sports a small reddish glow inside its head, a telltale sign of energetic jets from a star in the early stages of formation.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa
Message from Jim Robinson:

Dear FRiends,

We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.

If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you,

Jim

To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail).

For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.

1 posted on 04/28/2026 11:49:50 AM PDT by MtnClimber
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 04/28/2026 11:50:10 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; A Navy Vet; A_perfect_lady; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; ...
Pinging the APOD list

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔

3 posted on 04/28/2026 11:51:01 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Looks like two cats vying for the same thing.


4 posted on 04/28/2026 12:00:51 PM PDT by SkyDancer ( ~ Am Yisrael Chai ~)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber
...the grouping of light-year sized cometary globules...
5 posted on 04/28/2026 12:15:13 PM PDT by ComputerGuy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SkyDancer

LOL! It does!


6 posted on 04/28/2026 12:23:04 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Wow.


7 posted on 04/28/2026 12:29:24 PM PDT by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

The heavens declare the glory of God.

“What is man, that thou are mindful of him?”


8 posted on 04/28/2026 1:01:35 PM PDT by beethovenfan (The REAL Great Reset will be when Jesus returns. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: beethovenfan

Indeed.


9 posted on 04/28/2026 2:18:51 PM PDT by telescope115 (Ad Astra, Ad Deum…)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

For dust thou art and unto dust thou shall return..............


10 posted on 04/28/2026 3:34:46 PM PDT by Red Badger (Iryna Zarutska, May 22, 2002 Kyiv, Ukraine – August 22, 2025 Charlotte, North Carolina Say her name)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson