Through the Cosmic Lens: The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396A (Jedadiah Ashford)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Cepheus (Cep) · Contains: HD205948 · HD239710 · LBN 451 · LBN 452 · LDN 1093 · LDN 1098 · LDN 1099 · LDN 1105

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Through the Cosmic Lens: The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396A

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Through the Cosmic Lens: The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396A

Welcome to the Elephant Trunk Nebula, a spectacular display of cosmic maternity located some 2,400 light-years away in the royal constellation Cepheus. Its official moniker, IC 1396A, might sound cold and scientific, but this celestial structure's familiar, organic shape strikes a chord of fascination in us earthlings.

The Danish-Irish astronomer J.L.E. Dreyer, not exactly renowned for his whimsy, first cataloged the wider nebular complex, IC 1396, in the 19th century. But it's the Elephant Trunk that stirs the imagination, providing a visual spectacle spanning nearly 20 light-years of space, and resembling, well, an elephant's trunk.

IC 1396A is not just a pretty face. It's a hotbed of stellar birth. Tucked within its dust-shrouded tendrils, newborn stars ignite, gradually transforming this murky nursery with their light and energy.

The rich colors adorning this astronomical snapshot aren't merely for show. Reds hint at hydrogen gas - the raw material of stars. Blues reveal starlight scattered by fine dust particles. Each shade is a coded message from the cosmos, revealing secrets of this majestic celestial maternity ward.

So, here it is, the Elephant Trunk Nebula's Trunk. Less a static spectacle, more an evolving tableau of stellar creation and cosmic endurance. A visual feast that doubles as a window into the mesmerizing mechanics of the cosmos. The universe is an artist, and IC 1396A is one of its masterpieces in progress.

Please note: The following tables are updated every 24 hours.

Distribution of astrophotographers

This table shows the number of distinct astrophotographers who have been assigned and IOTD/TP award compared to the total number of images awarded.
	Distinct awarded users	Total awarded images
Image of the day
Top picks
Top pick nominations

Distribution of subject types

This table shows the distribution of awards per subject type, compared to the popularity of images of that subject type.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Deep sky
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Extremely wide field
Star trails
Northern lights
Noctilucent clouds
Landscape

Distribution of data sources

This table shows the distribution of awards per data source, compared to the popularity of images acquired from that data source.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Backyard
Traveller
Own remote observatory
Amateur hosting facility
Public amaeteur data
Professional, scientific grade data
Mix of multiple sources
Other
Unknown

The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

Submitted The date and time when you submitted this image for IOTD/TP consideration.	...
Views by Submitters (available since September 19th, 2023) Every image is assigned to 50% of available Submitters. In the event that at least 80% of them don't view the image before its time in the IOTD/TP process expires, it's assigned to the other 50% of Submitters and the process begins anew.
Promotions by Submitters When 3 distinct Submitters promote the image, it moves on to the next stage of the process: evaluation for Top Pick status. This requirement, in addition to anonymization of images and distribution to only a subset of them, prevents biases and ensures that the best images are selected.
Promotions by Reviewers When 3 distinct Reviewers promote the image, it moves on to the next stage of the process: evaluation for IOTD status.
Early dismissal Staff members have a lot of images to inspect on a daily basis, and they can dismiss images if they believe they don't meet the requirements for IOTD/TP selection. If an image is dismissed 5 times, it's removed from the process. This streamlines the process and ensures that any bias present in promotions could be overruled by other staff members.

Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	7941004
PixInsight job	GSW5RSMMKZ0THBWVBMXLQS6STFUOW6FR
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	21h35m05s.547
RA (top/left)	21h37m33s.710
RA (top/right)	21h37m21s.467
RA (bottom/right)	21h32m36s.645
RA (bottom/left)	21h32m51s.468

Dec (center)	+57°30′57″.00
Dec (top/left)	+57°19′55″.86
Dec (top/right)	+57°44′32″.93
Dec (bottom/right)	+57°41′47″.50
Dec (bottom/left)	+57°17′12″.55

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Through the Cosmic Lens: The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396A

Through the Cosmic Lens: The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396A

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Through the Cosmic Lens: The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396A

Through the Cosmic Lens: The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396A

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