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Ic 5146 Cocoon Nebula
IC 5146 Cocoon Nebula
IC 5146, (also known as C 19), is an open cluster attached to a diffuse nebula visible in the constellation Cygnus.
The nebula is an agglomeration of gas and dust with young stars inside that have excavated its interior, as happens in M 42. The nebula is rich in hydrogen, it is an HII region, which emits light by emission and is what is called a "star factory". It has an overall magnitude of 7.2 and is about half as wide as the lunar disk. It has an irregular figure, even if roughly rounded, with a real diameter of about 15 light years and is located inside an open cluster, in which there are various stars suspected of being variable, which illuminate a part also by reflection .
The brightest star of the open cluster has a magnitude of 9.74, an age of about one hundred thousand years, but probably it is not part of it (it overlaps the cluster prospectively), as its distance seems different from that of the cluster and equal to only 3,300 light years.
In the commentary by Steve Coe it is reported that the nebula and the cluster are about one degree away from a filament of dark material Barnard 168 (B 168), which extends for about two degrees and is projected onto the disc of the Via milky. The dark nebula is clearly visible in Ligustri's image: it is the dark filament that surrounds the nebula and moves away to the right.
Ic 5146 Cocoon Nebula
IC 5146 Cocoon Nebula
IC 5146, (also known as C 19), is an open cluster attached to a diffuse nebula visible in the constellation Cygnus.
The nebula is an agglomeration of gas and dust with young stars inside that have excavated its interior, as happens in M 42. The nebula is rich in hydrogen, it is an HII region, which emits light by emission and is what is called a "star factory". It has an overall magnitude of 7.2 and is about half as wide as the lunar disk. It has an irregular figure, even if roughly rounded, with a real diameter of about 15 light years and is located inside an open cluster, in which there are various stars suspected of being variable, which illuminate a part also by reflection .
The brightest star of the open cluster has a magnitude of 9.74, an age of about one hundred thousand years, but probably it is not part of it (it overlaps the cluster prospectively), as its distance seems different from that of the cluster and equal to only 3,300 light years.
In the commentary by Steve Coe it is reported that the nebula and the cluster are about one degree away from a filament of dark material Barnard 168 (B 168), which extends for about two degrees and is projected onto the disc of the Via milky. The dark nebula is clearly visible in Ligustri's image: it is the dark filament that surrounds the nebula and moves away to the right.