Tag Archives: Elephant’s Trunk Nebula

Behold: the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula winding its way through the star cluster complex of IC1396, some 3000 light years distant in the constellation of Cepheus. To wit:

Also known as vdB 142, the cosmic elephant’s trunk is over 20 light-years long. This colourful close-up view was recorded through narrow band filters that transmit the light from ionised hydrogen, sulphur, and oxygen atoms in the region. The resulting composite highlights the bright, swept-back ridges that outline pockets of cool interstellar dust and gas. Such embedded, dark, tendril-shaped clouds contain the raw material for star formation and hide protostars within

(Image: Chuck Ayoub)

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