IC 1396A Elephant Trunk Nebula
This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. IC 1396 is a giant emission nebula that is over 3 degrees in diameter. It is illuminated by a hot, massive O-type star (HD 206267) near its center. The star is not visible in this image- it is off of the top edge. This image is of IC 1396A, a dark, dense cloud of gas embedded in the nebula. It is informally known as the “Elephant Trunk Nebula” because of its distinctive shape. Images of other parts of IC 1396 are also available in this gallery. The image was generated with observations in the Hydrogen alpha (red), Sulphur [SII] (blue) and I (orange) filters. In this image, North is right, East is up.
Credit:T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)
About the Image
| Id: | noao1507a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | Nov. 11, 2015 |
| Related releases: | noao1507 |
| Size: | 6993 x 6933 px |
About the Object
| Name: | IC 396A |
| Constellation: | Cepheus |
| Category: | Nebulae |
Image Formats
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 21 35 35.60 |
| Position (Dec): | 57° 28' 53.97" |
| Field of view: | 30.25 x 29.99 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 89.8° right of vertical |
Colors & filters
| Band | Wave-length | Tele-scope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical Sll | 672 nm | Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope Mosaic I |
| Optical I | 805 nm | Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope Mosaic I |
| Optical Ha | 656 nm | Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope Mosaic I |