The Cocoon Nebula IC 5146 Close-up

The Cocoon Nebula IC 5146 Close-up

The Cocoon Nebula (designated IC 5146 or Sh2-125) is a reflection/emission nebula of about 15 light-years across that surrounds the young, open star cluster Collinder 470. It lies some 4,000 light-years away in the northern constellation of Cygnus (the Swan).

This stellar nursery combines an emission nebula of red, glowing, hydrogen gas and a reflection nebula, seen as blue, dust-reflected starlight at the edge of an otherwise invisible molecular cloud, cut by long, dark, dusty filaments where stars are forming.

The open cluster it surrounds is made up of mostly young, hot stars which clear out a cavity in the molecular cloud’s star forming dust and gas. One of them, the bright star near the center of this nebula has a surface temperature of 30,000 to 35,000 degrees and is primarily responsible for lighting up the nebula. This star is likely only a few hundred thousand years old, while the two or three hundred other stars in the area have a range of ages averaging a million or so years, suggesting that several episodes of star formation took place in the region, continuing to the present day.

This view of the Cocoon Nebula traces remarkably subtle features within and surrounding the dusty stellar nursery. Surrounding the bright nebula is the end of a dark (absorption) nebula, Barnard 168, which separates the emission nebula from the surrounding starry background.

 

Image Credit: Adam Block

Image Date: Phillips 24-inch RCOS Telescope, Camera: SBIG STL11000

Location: Mount Lemmon Skycenter, University of Arizona

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