象鼻与蓬车

2023年6月8日

Elephant’s Trunk and Caravan
Image Credit & Copyright: Steve Cannistra (StarryWonders)

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. Seen on the left the cosmic elephant’s trunk, also known as vdB 142, is over 20 light-years long. This 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. This rendition spans a 1 degree wide field of view though, about the angular size of 2 full moons. Of course the dark shapes below and to the right of the outstretched Elephant’s Trunk, are known to some as The Caravan.

Tomorrow’s picture: pixels in space

象鼻与蓬车
影像提供与版权: Steve Cannistra (StarryWonders)

说明: 形似宇宙版“原来如此故事”图示的象鼻星云，位在既高又远的仙王座之内，蜿蜒穿过由发射星云和年轻星团聚成的IC 1396复合体。只不过，位在影像左侧的这条编录号为vdB 142的宇宙版象鼻，长度有20多光年。这幅细致的望远镜影像，呈现了密布在视野各处的成团低温星际尘埃和云气及明亮后掠云脊。这些黝黑的须状云，其内除了含有造星材料之外，也遮掩了埋在不透光尘埃里的原恒星。距离接近3,000光年远、相对黯淡的IC 1396复合体，在天空绵延了超过5度的大片区域。这片视野跨幅则为1度，或者说是2个满月的宽度。此外，在颀长象鼻星云右下方的成群黝黑天体，有蓬车星云之称。

明日的图片: pixels in space