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CG 4, also known as "God's Hand", is a star-forming region located in the Puppis constellation, about 1300 light-years from Earth. It is one of several objects referred to as "cometary globules", because its shape is similar to that of a comet. It has a dense head formed of gas and dust, which is around 1.5 light-years in diameter, and an elongated faint tail around 8 light-years in length. CG 4 was discovered in 1976, along with other cometary globules in the Gum Nebula, by the UK Schmidt Telescope in Australia. This photograph was taken by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope.Photograph: European Southern Observatory