Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Gemini (Gem)  ·  Contains:  Gem A  ·  IC 443  ·  IC 444  ·  The star Propus (ηGem)
IC443 (Sh2-248) Jellyfish Nebula, PrairieSkiesAstro
IC443 (Sh2-248) Jellyfish Nebula
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IC443 (Sh2-248) Jellyfish Nebula

IC443 (Sh2-248) Jellyfish Nebula, PrairieSkiesAstro
IC443 (Sh2-248) Jellyfish Nebula
Powered byPixInsight

IC443 (Sh2-248) Jellyfish Nebula

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If I asked you to name all of the animal species which have been to space, I bet jellyfish would not be your first guess, am I right? While it may sound crazy, it's true! I'm talking real live jellyfish in space, not just about IC443 ( Sh2-248 ) dubbed the Jellyfish Nebula in Gemini. While this beautiful supernova remnant obviously bears a striking resemblance to these otherworldly Cnidarians, it lost its designation as the only celestial "jellyfish" back in the early 90s when NASA saw fit to provide some companionship. During a Space Shuttle Columbia mission cataloged as "Spacelab Life Sciences One" or SLS-1, NASA literally launched tens of thousands of  moon jellyfish polyps (seriously, someone at NASA has a sense of humor) into space. Scientists wanted to produce baby jellyfish in a zero-gravity environment and monitor their progression both in orbit and back on Earth. Why, you may ask, did they see fit to take on the role of "Jellyfish Matchmakers in Space?" Apparently, though jellyfish have no brains or hearts, they are somewhat akin to humans in that we both utilize a similar biological sensory "tool" to determine orientation (up, down, etc.). Thus, scientists wanted to understand how being born and growing up in a zero-gravity environment might affect jellyfish (and by extension, humans) when they came back to Earth. Interestingly, once back on Earth, the alien jellyfish appeared to suffer from a bad case of vertigo, demonstrating that humans born in space may have a tough time orienting themselves once back on Earth. That's a pretty dizzying conclusion if you ask me (yes, pun intended)!

Side note, I'm trademarking "Jellyfish Matchmakers in Space" because it sounds like a legitimate sitcom...

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