Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2019 August 16
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                   The Elephant's Trunk Nebula in Cepheus
                  Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Chuck Ayoub

   Explanation: Like an illustration in a galactic [4]Just So Story, the
   Elephant's Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and young
   star cluster [5]complex IC 1396, in the high and far off constellation
   [6]of Cepheus. Also known as vdB 142, the cosmic elephant's trunk is
   over 20 light-years long. [7]This colorful close-up view [8]was
   recorded through narrow band filters that transmit the light from
   ionized hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen atoms in the region. The resulting
   composite highlights the bright swept-back ridges that outline pockets
   of cool [9]interstellar dust and gas. Such embedded, dark,
   [10]tendril-shaped clouds contain the raw material for star formation
   and hide [11]protostars within. Nearly 3,000 [12]light-years distant,
   the relatively faint [13]IC 1396 complex covers a large region on the
   sky, spanning over 5 degrees. The dramatic scene spans a 1 degree wide
   field, about [14]the size of 2 Full Moons.

                    Tomorrow's picture: Orion on a plate
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    Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([29]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [30]Specific rights apply.
              [31]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [32]ASD at [33]NASA / [34]GSFC
                           & [35]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1908/ElephantTrunk_Ayoub.jpg
   3. https://www.youtube.com/chucksastrophotography
   4. http://www.boop.org/jan/justso/
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050908.html
   6. http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/cep/
   7. https://www.astrobin.com/415797/0/
   8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb4aJ_A6Py0
   9. http://www-ssg.sr.unh.edu/ism/what1.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070218.html
  11. http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1058-ssc2003-06b-Dark-Globule-in-IC-1396
  12. http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/cosmic/
  13. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1996A&A...309..581W&db_key=AST&high=3af6c03e8102807
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap061228.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190815.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  24. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=190816
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190817.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  32. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  35. http://www.mtu.edu/