IC 1396: Emission Nebula in Cepheus
From NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
Stunning emission nebula IC 1396 mixes glowing cosmic gas and dark dust clouds in the high and far off constellation of Cepheus.
Energized by the bright, bluish central
star seen here, this star forming region sprawls
across hundreds of light-years -- spanning over three degrees on the sky while
nearly 3,000 light-years from planet Earth.
Among the intriguing dark shapes within IC
1396, the winding Elephant's
Trunk nebula lies just below center.
The gorgeous color view is a composition
of digitized black
and white photographic plates recorded through red and blue astronomical
filters.
The plates were taken using the Samuel Oschin Telescope,
a wide-field survey instrument at Palomar Observatory, between
1989 and 1993.
Image Credit: Digitized Sky Survey,
ESA/ESO/NASA FITS Liberator
Color Composite: Davide De Martin (Skyfactory)
Color Composite: Davide De Martin (Skyfactory)