Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Gemini (Gem)  ·  Contains:  10 Gem  ·  11 Gem  ·  12 Gem  ·  13 Gem)  ·  13 mu. Gem  ·  13.38  ·  517 Edith  ·  7 Gem)  ·  7 eta Gem  ·  9 Gem  ·  Calx (μ Gem  ·  Gem A  ·  HD253521  ·  HD253551  ·  HD253571  ·  HD253572  ·  HD253591  ·  HD253592  ·  HD253619  ·  HD253677  ·  HD253678  ·  HD253679  ·  HD253701  ·  HD253703  ·  HD253704  ·  HD253754  ·  HD253778  ·  HD253779  ·  HD253781  ·  HD253782  ·  And 186 more.
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IC 443 & IC 444: "Violent Deaths and Humble Beginnings", AaronW
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IC 443 & IC 444: "Violent Deaths and Humble Beginnings"

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
IC 443 & IC 444: "Violent Deaths and Humble Beginnings", AaronW
Powered byPixInsight

IC 443 & IC 444: "Violent Deaths and Humble Beginnings"

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*Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 -- Shortlisted*

Anchored right and left at the foot of the Gemini constellation by two bright stars, µ and η Geminorum, this cosmic jellyfish is part of an expanding debris cloud from one of the universe's most violent events: a supernova.

Exploding stars contain the fundamental ingredients required for life (hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, etc.), and when they scatter their enriched guts across the galaxy, they quite literally make life possible.  I love reflecting on the fact that the atoms in our bodies are all traceable to stars that exploded somewhere, and that supernova remnants like IC 443 are - in many ways - the birthplaces of the universe.

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IC 443 & IC 444: "Violent Deaths and Humble Beginnings", AaronW