The Elephant's Trunk Nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC 1396 located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth.[1] The piece of the nebula shown here is the dark, dense globule IC 1396A; it is commonly called the Elephant's Trunk nebula because of its appearance at visible light wavelengths, where there is a dark patch with a bright, sinuous rim. The bright rim is the surface of the dense cloud that is being illuminated and ionized by a very bright, massive star (HD 206267) that is just to the east of IC 1396A. (In the Spitzer Space Telescope view shown, the massive star is just to the left of the edge of the image.) The entire IC 1396 region is ionized by the massive star, except for dense globules that can protect themselves from the star's harsh ultraviolet rays.[citation needed]
The Elephant's Trunk Nebula is now thought to be a site of star formation, containing several very young (less than 100,000 yr) stars that were discovered in infrared images in 2003. Two older (but still young, a couple of million years, by the standards of stars, which live for billions of years) stars are present in a small, circular cavity in the head of the globule. Winds from these young stars may have emptied the cavity.[citation needed]
The combined action of the light from the massive star ionizing and compressing the rim of the cloud, and the wind from the young stars shifting gas from the center outward lead to very high compression in the Elephant's Trunk Nebula. This pressure has triggered the current generation of protostars.[2][3]
Gallery
Captured in classic Hubble Palette (Ha/OIII/SII) using a 127mm refractor telescope
Captured in hydrogen alpha using a 102mm telescope
Captured in hydrogen alpha and oxygen
Ha+OIII+SII Hubble palette modified
Widefield view of the IC1396 nebula in SHO Hubble palette
^Matthews, HI (1979). "High resolution radio observations of bright rims in IC 1396". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 75: 345–50. Bibcode:1979A&A....75..345M.
^Getman, KV; Feigelson, ED; Sicilia-Aguilar, A; Broos, PS; Kuhn, MA; Garmire, GP (2012). "The Elephant Trunk Nebula and the Trumpler 37 cluster: contribution of triggered star formation to the total population of an H II region". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 426 (4): 2917–43. arXiv:1208.1471. Bibcode:2012MNRAS.426.2917G. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21879.x. S2CID 49528100.
External links
Media related to Elephant's Trunk Nebula at Wikimedia Commons
elephant, trunk, nebula, concentration, interstellar, dust, within, much, larger, ionized, region, 1396, located, constellation, cepheus, about, light, years, away, from, earth, piece, nebula, shown, here, dark, dense, globule, 1396a, commonly, called, elephan. The Elephant s Trunk Nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC 1396 located in the constellation Cepheus about 2 400 light years away from Earth 1 The piece of the nebula shown here is the dark dense globule IC 1396A it is commonly called the Elephant s Trunk nebula because of its appearance at visible light wavelengths where there is a dark patch with a bright sinuous rim The bright rim is the surface of the dense cloud that is being illuminated and ionized by a very bright massive star HD 206267 that is just to the east of IC 1396A In the Spitzer Space Telescope view shown the massive star is just to the left of the edge of the image The entire IC 1396 region is ionized by the massive star except for dense globules that can protect themselves from the star s harsh ultraviolet rays citation needed Elephant s Trunk NebulaEmission nebulaSpitzer Space Telescope photo of the nebulaObservation dataDistance2 400 lyConstellationCepheusSee also Lists of nebulaeFor similarly the named type of formation in other nebulae see Elephant trunk astronomy The Elephant s Trunk Nebula is now thought to be a site of star formation containing several very young less than 100 000 yr stars that were discovered in infrared images in 2003 Two older but still young a couple of million years by the standards of stars which live for billions of years stars are present in a small circular cavity in the head of the globule Winds from these young stars may have emptied the cavity citation needed The combined action of the light from the massive star ionizing and compressing the rim of the cloud and the wind from the young stars shifting gas from the center outward lead to very high compression in the Elephant s Trunk Nebula This pressure has triggered the current generation of protostars 2 3 Gallery Edit Captured in classic Hubble Palette Ha OIII SII using a 127mm refractor telescope Captured in hydrogen alpha using a 102mm telescope Captured in hydrogen alpha and oxygen Ha OIII SII Hubble palette modified Widefield view of the IC1396 nebula in SHO Hubble palette Close up on the nebulaSee also EditList of largest nebulae Lists of nebulaeReferences Edit Matthews HI 1979 High resolution radio observations of bright rims in IC 1396 Astronomy and Astrophysics 75 345 50 Bibcode 1979A amp A 75 345M Barentsen G 2011 T Tauri candidates and accretion rates using IPHAS method and application to IC1396 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 415 1 103 32 arXiv 1103 1646 Bibcode 2011MNRAS 415 103B doi 10 1111 j 1365 2966 2011 18674 x S2CID 27173042 Getman KV Feigelson ED Sicilia Aguilar A Broos PS Kuhn MA Garmire GP 2012 The Elephant Trunk Nebula and the Trumpler 37 cluster contribution of triggered star formation to the total population of an H II region Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 426 4 2917 43 arXiv 1208 1471 Bibcode 2012MNRAS 426 2917G doi 10 1111 j 1365 2966 2012 21879 x S2CID 49528100 External links Edit Media related to Elephant s Trunk Nebula at Wikimedia Commons Capturing the Stars Astrophotography by the Masters IC 1396A Telegraph co uk Retrieved 2010 10 13 Elephant s Trunk Nebula in IC1396 Paul Beskeen Astrophotography Retrieved 2010 10 13 IC 1396 in Mapped Color 17 August 2004 Russell Croman Astrophotography Retrieved 2010 10 13 IC 1396 in modified SHO 12 September 2016 Richard Pattie Portals Astronomy Stars Spaceflight Outer space Solar System Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elephant 27s Trunk Nebula amp oldid 1132251207, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
