象鼻与蓬车

2021年8月27日

Elephant’s Trunk and Caravan
Image Credit & Copyright: Robert Eder

Explanation: Like an illustration in 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. Also known as vdB 142, seen on the left the cosmic elephant’s trunk is over 20 light-years long. Removed by digital processing, no visible stars are in this detailed telescopic close-up view highlighting the bright swept-back ridges that outline pockets of cool interstellar dust and gas. But the dark, tendril-shaped clouds contain the raw material for star formation and hide protostars within. Nearly 3,000 light-years distant, the relatively faint IC 1396 complex covers a large region on the sky, spanning over 5 degrees. This starless rendition spans a 1 degree wide field of view though, about the angular size of 2 full moons. Of course the dark shapes below and right, marching toward the winding Elephant’s Trunk, are known to some as The Caravan.

Tomorrow’s picture: looking for a good rock

象鼻与蓬车
影像提供与版权: Robert Eder

说明: 形状神似宇宙版“原来如此故事”图示的象鼻星云，位在既高又远的仙王座之内，蜿蜒穿过由发射星云和年轻星团聚成的IC 1396复合体。只不过，这条亦名为vdB 142的宇宙版象鼻子，长度超过20光年。这幅特别经过数位处理移除可见恒星的望远镜影像，用以突显围在成团低温星际尘埃和云气四周的明亮后掠云脊。这些黝黑的须状云，其内除了含有造星材料之外，也遮掩了埋在不透光尘埃里的原恒星。距离接近3,000光年远也相对黯淡的IC 1396复合体，在天空绵延了超过5度的大片区域。这片无星的演绎视野，跨幅为1度或者说是2个满月的大小。在影像右下方的黝黑天体，看似列队驰向蜿蜒的象鼻星云，故偶有蓬车星云之称。

明日的图片: looking for a good rock