Elephant’s Trunk, Cradle of Newborn Stars
The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula is a mixture of interstellar gas and dust, in the ionized gas region of IC 1396 star cluster.
Cepheus Constellation is situated in the northern hemisphere and contains various star clusters, glowing nebulae and dark dust clouds. All of them can be followed in detail in this the photo below. In the left we can see IC 1396, a big emission nebula that contains a dark, twisting, spiral shaped region known as the Elephant’s Trunk. In the top middle we can see NGC 7380, a bright nebula with a fix star cluster and in the right part of the picture we can spot the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635) and star cluster Messier 52 (M52).
The name of Elephant’s Trunk nebula diverts from it’s aspect at visible light wavelengths: a dark spot with a winding bright frame. The bright surface is actually a dense cloud illuminated and ionized by a very big and bright star situated in the west area. Only the dense globules escape from the ionization process that affects the entire IC 1396 region, due to their ability to protect themselves from the massive star’s rough ultraviolet rays .
After discovering in 2003 a series of young stars (less than 100,000 years), the scientists consider the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula as a possible site of star formation. Two of these new stars are located in the head of the globule, in a round cavity emptied by the star’s winds.
The Elephant’s Trunk nebula has a very high compression level. This is due to the presence of the massive star that ionizes and compresses the frame of the cloud, combined with the young stars whose winds shift the gas from the center to the edges. The high pressure level caused the current generation of protostars.
Distance from Earth: ~ 2500 light years
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