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Credit & Copyright: Eddie Sgarbossa
Explanation:
Like an illustration in a galactic
Just So Story,
the Elephant's Trunk Nebula winds through
the emission region and young star cluster complex IC 1396,
in the high and far off constellation
of Cepheus.
Also known as vdB 142, this
cosmic elephant's trunk
is over 20 light-years long.
The detailed telescopic
view features the bright swept-back
ridges and pockets of cool
interstellar
dust and gas that abound in the region.
But the
dark, tendril-shaped clouds
contain the raw material for star formation and hide
protostars within.
Nearly 3,000 light-years
distant, the relatively faint
IC 1396 complex
covers a large region on the sky, spanning over 5 degrees.
Top to bottom
this proboscidean-like rendition reaches
across an almost 1 degree wide field of view, though.
That's a little less than the angular size of 2 full moons.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: star formation
Publications with words: star formation
See also:
- APOD: 2026 April 28 Á CG 30: Cometary Globules
- APOD: 2026 April 13 Á NGC 602 and Beyond
- APOD: 2026 April 5 Á NGC 3310: A Starburst Spiral Galaxy
- APOD: 2026 March 17 Á The Tadpoles of IC 410
- NGC 1333: Stellar Nursery in Perseus
- APOD: 2025 December 28 Á NGC 1898: Globular Cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud
- NGC 253: Dusty Island Universe