仙王座的象鼻星云

2024年11月21日

The Elephant’s Trunk in Cepheus
Image Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Giorgio Ferrari

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. This rendition spans a 1 degree wide field of view though, about the angular size of 2 full moons.

Tomorrow’s picture: pixels in space

仙王座的象鼻星云
影像提供: 影像提供与版权: Giorgio Ferrari

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所构成的IC 1396复合体。不过，这道亦称为vdB 142的宇宙版象鼻，长度超过20光年。这幅细致的望远镜影像，则呈现了明亮的后掠云脊、团状的低温星际尘埃及云气。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，在天空绵延了宽度超过5度的大片区域。这幅影像，其视野的宽度为1度（约2个满月）。

明日的图片: pixels in space