IC 5146 (also Caldwell 19, Sh 2-125, Barnard 168, and the Cocoon Nebula) is a

reflection Reflection or reflexion may refer to: Science and technology * Reflection (physics), a common wave phenomenon ** Specular reflection, mirror-like reflection of waves from a surface *** Mirror image, a reflection in a mirror or in water ** Diffuse r ...

emission Emission may refer to: Chemical products * Emission of air pollutants, notably: ** Flue gas, gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue ** Exhaust gas, flue gas generated by fuel combustion ** Emission of greenhouse gases, which absorb and emit rad ...

nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...

and Caldwell object in the constellation Cygnus. The NGC description refers to IC 5146 as a cluster of 9.5 mag stars involved in a bright and dark nebula. The cluster is also known as Collinder 470. It shines at magnitude +10.0/+9.3/+7.2. Its celestial coordinates are RA , dec . It is located near the

naked-eye Naked eye, also called bare eye or unaided eye, is the practice of engaging in visual perception unaided by a magnifying, light-collecting optical instrument, such as a telescope or microscope, or eye protection. In astronomy, the naked eye m ...

star

Pi Cygni The Bayer designation Pi Cygni (π Cyg / π Cygni) is shared by two stars, in the constellation Cygnus: * π¹ Cygni * π² Cygni All of them were member of asterism 騰蛇 (''Téng Shé''), ''Flying Serpent'', ''Encampment Camp may refer to: ...

, the open cluster

NGC 7209 NGC 7209 is an open cluster in the constellation Lacerta. It was discovered by William Herschel on 19 October 1787. The cluster lies 3,810 light years away from Earth. It has been suggested that there is another cluster at a distance of 2,100 ligh ...

Lacerta Lacerta is one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. Its name is Latin for lizard. A small, faint constellation, it was defined in 1687 by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Its brightest stars form a "W" ...

, and the bright open cluster M39. The cluster is about 4,000 ly away, and the central star that lights it formed about 100,000 years ago; the nebula is about 12 arcmins across, which is equivalent to a span of 15 light years. When viewing IC 5146,

dark nebula A dark nebula or absorption nebula is a type of interstellar cloud, particularly molecular clouds, that is so dense that it obscures the visible wavelengths of light from objects behind it, such as background stars and emission or reflection ...

Barnard 168 (B168) is an inseparable part of the experience, forming a dark lane that surrounds the cluster and projects westward forming the appearance of a trail behind the Cocoon.

Young Stellar Objects

IC 5146 is a stellar nursery where star-formation is ongoing. Observations by both the

Spitzer Space Telescope The Spitzer Space Telescope, formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), was an infrared space telescope launched in 2003, that was deactivated when operations ended on 30 January 2020. Spitzer was the third space telescope dedicate ...

and the

Chandra X-ray Observatory The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO), previously known as the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), is a Flagship-class space telescope launched aboard the during STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. Chandra is sensitive to X-ray sources ...

have collectively identified hundreds of

young stellar objects Young stellar object (YSO) denotes a star in its early stage of evolution. This class consists of two groups of objects: protostars and pre-main-sequence stars. Classification by spectral energy distribution A star forms by accumulation of mate ...

. Young stars are seen in both the emission nebula, where gas has been ionized by massive young stars, and in the infrared-dark molecular cloud that forms the "tail". One of the most massive stars in the region is BD +46 3474, a star of class B1 that is an estimated 14±4 times the

mass of the sun The solar mass () is a frequently used unit of mass in astronomy, equal to approximately . It is approximately equal to the mass of the Sun. It is often used to indicate the masses of other stars, as well as stellar clusters, nebulae, galaxies a ...

. Another interesting star in the nebula is BD +46 3471, which is an example of a HAeBe star, an intermediate mass star with strong emission lines in its spectrum.

References

External links

* * * {{Cygnus (constellation) Diffuse nebulae Reflection nebulae Emission nebulae Open clusters 019b 5146 Cygnus (constellation) Sharpless objects Star-forming regions