Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cepheus (Cep)  ·  Contains:  VdB142
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IC 1396 Elephant's Trunk Nebula, Michael Southam
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IC 1396 Elephant's Trunk Nebula

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IC 1396 Elephant's Trunk Nebula, Michael Southam
Powered byPixInsight

IC 1396 Elephant's Trunk Nebula

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Description

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC 1396 located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth. It is commonly called the Elephant's Trunk nebula because of its appearance at visible light wavelengths, where there is a dark patch with a bright, sinuous rim. The bright rim is the surface of the dense cloud that is being illuminated and ionized by a very bright, massive star (HD 206267) that is just to the east of IC 1396A. The entire IC 1396 region is ionized by the massive star, except for dense globules that can protect themselves from the star's harsh ultraviolet rays.

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