Post by glactus on Mar 2, 2009 9:59:04 GMT
The Cocoon nebula
IC 5146, the Cocoon Nebula.
When viewing IC 5146, the dark nebula Barnard 168 is an inseparable part of the experience, forming a dark lane that surrounds the cluster and projects westward forming the appearance of a trail behind the Cocoon.
Inside the Cocoon Nebula is a newly developing cluster of stars. This beautiful nebula is nearly 15 light-years wide, located some 4,000 light years away toward the northern constellation of Cygnus.
Like other star forming regions, it stands out in red, glowing, hydrogen gas excited by young, hot stars and blue, dust-reflected starlight at the edge of an otherwise invisible molecular cloud.
In fact, the bright star near the center of this nebula is likely only a few hundred thousand years old, powering the nebular glow as it clears out a cavity in the molecular cloud's star forming dust and gas.
This color view of the Cocoon Nebula traces remarkably subtle features within and surrounding the dusty stellar nursery.
Credits: This is a NASA/Hubble image
