Cometary Globule CG 4 (GOD’S HAND)

From time to time, I obtain data sets from remote observatories around the world. One of my favorite providers is Telescope Live, offering access to high-quality instruments located in Chile, Australia, and Spain. Among the data I received was a particularly fascinating set featuring the cometary globule CG 4, situated in the southern constellation Puppis.

Often referred to as “The Hand of God,” CG 4 is one of the most striking examples of a cometary globule—a small, isolated cloud of gas and dust shaped by the powerful radiation and stellar winds of nearby massive stars. Its dark, dusty “head” appears to be reaching out into space, trailing a faint, wispy “tail” that extends deep into the surrounding nebular field.

Although small on a cosmic scale, CG 4 embodies the drama of star formation and destruction: within its opaque regions, new stars are born, while nearby hot stars slowly erode its fragile structure. Capturing such an object in high resolution offers a fascinating glimpse into the balance between creation and decay that defines the dynamic interstellar medium.

For this project, data calibration, registration, and final processing were carried out entirely in PixInsight.

The images were taken with the following equipment (CHI1-CCD):

• Date: 2022
• Location: El Sauce Observatory, Chile
• Telescope: PLanwave CDK24
• Focal length [mm]: 3962
• Focal ratio: 6.5
• Mount: Mathis MI-1000/1250
• Camera: FLI Proline 9000
• Filter: L:R:G:B
• Exposure time [min]: 200:200:200:200
• Resolution: 0.62″/px