The Dark Energy Camera has captured an ominous and ghostly hand reaching from the Milky Way from a distant edge-on spiral galaxy. But don't panic; despite its nickname,"God's Hand," there is nothing supernatural about this structure — yet that doesn't make it any less awe-inspiring. is actually a cometary globule officially known as CG 4.
Bok clusters weren't discovered by astronomers until the mid-1970s, evading detection for so long because of how faint they are and the fact that their tails are shrouded byBreaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
A close-up of CG 4 aligning with the edge-on spiral galaxy ESO 257-19 , the two are actually 100 million light-years apart. Near the head of the cometary globule are two young stellar objects .ESO 257-19 , which is seen edge-on from our perspective on Earth. Though the galaxy may appear about to be gripped by God's Hand or a cosmic lobster claw, it is safe from harm, located around 100 million light-years from CG 4.