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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396
Explanation: Like a picture from 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 . Bright swept-back ridges compose the suggestive form, outlining pockets of interstellar dust and gas. Such embedded dark, comet-shaped clouds contain the raw material for star formation . About 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. This close-up telescopic view is a delightful color mosaic of two digital images intended to follow the 'satiable curious cosmic trunk.
| Date | July 20, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit & Copyright: Robert Gendler |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |