An Unusual Globule in IC 1396
Explanation:
Is there a monster in
IC 1396?
Known to some as the
Elephant's Trunk Nebula, parts of gas and
dust clouds of this
star formation region
may appear to take on foreboding forms, some
nearly human.
The only real
monster here, however, is a
bright young star too far from
Earth to hurt us.
Energetic light from this star is eating away the dust of the dark
cometary globule near the top of the
above image.
Jets and
winds of particles emitted
from this star are also pushing away ambient gas and dust.
Nearly 3,000
light-years distant, the relatively faint
IC 1396 complex covers a much larger region on the
sky than shown here, with an apparent width of more than 10
full moons.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
