仙王座的象鼻星云

2020年8月1日

The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula in Cepheus
Image Credit & Copyright: Chad Leader

Explanation: Like an illustration in a galactic Just So Story, the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and young star cluster complex IC 1396, in the high and far off constellation of Cepheus. Also known as vdB 142, the cosmic elephant’s trunk is over 20 light-years long. This detailed close-up view was recorded through narrow band filters that transmit the light from ionized hydrogen 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. Nearly 3,000 light-years distant, the relatively faint IC 1396 complex covers a large region on the sky, spanning over 5 degrees. This dramatic scene spans a 1 degree wide field of view though, about the size of 2 Full Moons.

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仙王座的象鼻星云
影像提供与版权: Chad Leader

说明: 形状神似宇宙版“原来如此故事”图示的象鼻星云，位在高又远的仙王座之内，蜿蜒穿过由发射星云和年轻星团构成的IC 1396复合体。只不过，这道也称为vdB 142的宇宙版象鼻，长度超过20光年。这幅彩色特写影像，整合了只透过电离氢和氧辐射的此区域窄波段影像数据。也因此，组合影像突显了包围在成团低温星际尘埃和云气周围的后掠云脊。这些黝黑的须状云，其内除了有造星材料之外，也遮住深藏在不透光尘埃里的原恒星。将近3千光年远、相对昏暗的IC 1396复合体，在天空绵延了超过5度的大片区域。不过这片引人注目的视野，跨幅是1度或大约2个满月的宽度。

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