Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cygnus (Cyg)  ·  Contains:  Cocoon nebula  ·  IC 5146
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IC 5146 (the Cocoon Nebula), Randal Healey
IC 5146 (the Cocoon Nebula)
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IC 5146 (the Cocoon Nebula)

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
IC 5146 (the Cocoon Nebula), Randal Healey
IC 5146 (the Cocoon Nebula)
Powered byPixInsight

IC 5146 (the Cocoon Nebula)

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Description

IC 5146 (the Cocoon Nebula) is a reflection/emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus. It shines at magnitude +10.0/+9.3/+7.2. It is located near the naked-eye star Pi Cygni, the open cluster NGC 7209 in Lacerta, and the bright open cluster M39. The cluster is about 4,000 ly away, and the central star that lights it formed about 100,000 years ago; the nebula is about 12 arcmins across, which is equivalent to a span of 15 light years.

When viewing IC 5146, dark nebula Barnard 168 (B168) is an inseparable part of the experience, forming a dark lane that surrounds the cluster and projects forming the appearance of a trail behind the Cocoon. IC 5146 is a stellar nursery where star-formation is ongoing. Observations by both the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory have collectively identified hundreds of young stellar objects. Young stars are seen in both the emission nebula, where gas has been ionized by massive young stars, and in the infrared-dark molecular cloud that forms the "tail". The most-massive stars in the region is BD +46 3474, a star of class B1 that is an estimated 14±4 times the mass of the sun. (Credit: Wikipedia)

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  • IC 5146 (the Cocoon Nebula), Randal Healey
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    IC 5146 (the Cocoon Nebula), Randal Healey
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IC 5146 (the Cocoon Nebula), Randal Healey