APOD: 2022 December 12 - An Unusual Globule in IC 1396

Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the December 12th edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "An Unusual Globule in IC 1396." The term 'globule' (formally, 'Bok globule') refers to an isolated and relatively small, dark nebula that contains dense cosmic dust and gas. In 1947, astronomer Bart Bok theorized that star formation may take place in these globules through gravitational collapse. By 1990, research had confirmed this theory.

A 'cometary globule' is formed when radiation and stellar winds from nearby stars sculpt a tail from material in a Bok globule. As you can see, we are looking at a cometary globule at the tip of IC 1396, the Elephant's Trunk Nebula. It lies 3,000 light years away in the constellation Cepheus. The new stars were first detected by infrared light in 2003.