The Tip of the Trunk
Something really special to share with you today. I’m working on processing a deep 12 panel, 600 megapixel mosaic of a portion of IC 1396 that I spent a full month of telescope time on over the summer. This is a tiny section of it, showing the tip of the Elephant Trunk nebula in pure natural colors as our eyes would see it were they sensitive enough.
Seen here in the highest resolution I could achieve, this column of dust is being compressed and ionized by massive stars that are nearby but out of this frame (you’ll see the guilty parties in my larger mosaic though). This both causes it to glow and is also leading to the formation of new star systems within the column, which will form their own clear domains as they come to life. You can see an example of this in the cavity being formed near the tip of the column.
Meanwhile, subtle reflections of the dark dust structures cascade throughout the image as a result of of the starlight coming from countless surrounding stars.
Isn’t it our Universe beautiful!?
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