The Elephant’s Trunk nebula, formally known as IC1396A, is a cloud of
gas and dust located 2400 light years from Earth in the constellation
Cepheus.
The Elephant Trunk is part of a larger region of ionized gas
illuminated by a nearby massive O-type star (located outside the image
to the left).
Radiation and winds from this hot star compress and ionize the edges of
cloud, resulting in the bright "ionization fronts" seen in this image.
Young stars at very different stages of formation have been found both
within and just outside the Elephant’s Trunk. Very young protostars,
still accreting material from the surrounding nebula, are located inside
the cloud, while fully formed stars have been found just in front of
the ionization edges.
This suggests that star formation has been proceeding sequentially
through the cloud as a result of the ‘triggering’ effects of the hot
star (Barentsen, 2011).
On the order of 5% of the mass of gas and dust in the cloud has already
been turned into protostars (Reach, 2004), and the process is continuing
today.
The Elephant’s Trunk is a popular target for amateur astrophotographers.
If you have a camera and a telescope, why not go out and try to image
this object yourself?
More information:
Source: Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes
Contact:
Javier Méndez
(Public Relations Officer)
