sponsored by psychohistorian.org

DOCdb

Deep Sky Observer's Companion – the online database

 

Welcome, guest!

If you've already registered, please log in,

or register an observer profile for added functionality.

List:

log in to manage your observing lists

 browse:

 

 position:

 

 next:

 

 options:

summary

rename

prune

trim

remove

close

copy

combine

plan

bookmark

load

new

delete

marathon

favourite!

Full database:

Entire DOCdb database of 18,816 objects.

 browse:

 position:

IC 1396 (16,809 of 18,816)

 next:

oc gc pln bn dn gx gxcl ast aka lost

Object:

list

bookmark

finder chart

altitude today

altitude (year)

 search:

½°, , in DOCdb

show browsing

IC 1396

IC 1396, Ced 195a, C 2137+572, Cl Trumpler 37, Cl Collinder 439, Ocl 222, COCD 500 (contains Elephant Trunk Nebula)

RA: 21h 38m 57.62s
Dec: +57° 29′ 20.6″

Con: Cepheus
Ch: MSA:1073, U2:57, SA:3

Ref: SIMBAD, Archinal&Hynes (2003), Skiff20080430-T

(reference key)

Type: open cluster, 43mn

Mag: B=?, V=3.5

Size: 90′
PA: ?

Image gallery

Photos  (4)

Select a photo and click the button to view

History and Accurate Positions for the NGC/IC Objects (Corwin 2004)

IC 1396 is unmistakable in spite of the sparse description in the IC. This may have been sent to Dreyer as a private communication; the IC gives no reference aside from "Barnard." Nor is there a reference to it in Barnard's Milky Way atlas, though he does discuss it quite a bit in his notes to Plate 82.

The HII region itself is spectacular on the POSS1 prints, covering an area of about 3 deg x 2 deg. It has a pretty low surface brightness, but is bright enough that the many dark cometary globules superposed on it show up very well. There is a cluster of stars near its center; I've used the position of the brightest member (BD +56 2617 = SAO 033626) as that of the entire complex. This is a wonderful object.

Remarks

It is a member of the Cepheus OB 2 Association.

Historical observations

Barnard, E.E

Described by Barnard as a "nebulous part of the Milky Way", this nebulosity extended over 3 square degrees. It is primarily a photographic object, being a huge red nebula which is quite easy to photograph.

Published comments

Trumpler

Trumpler 37:

Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 60' and the class as 4 3 rN. He notes: "Found on Bd.Atl. pl 49: large, loose somewhat irregular cluster of bright and faint stars, triangular figure, involved in nebulosity."

Cederblad, S. (1946) [VII/231]

Ced 195a (IC 1396a)

Position (1900): RA 22 35.9, Dec + 57 0

Star: +56 2617 (Mp=5.55, V=5.64, SpT=O6n)

Spectrum of nebula: emission spectrum (observed)

Classification: Neb associated with mainly one star (which may be multiple) - star surrounded by a neb envelope with conspicuous structure (eg. IC 5146)

Size: 180'x180'

Notes: "The region of IC 1396, Disc. Barnard 1894 (54). (79, 93 Pl 49, 482, 486, 717, 726 No 22). R. In the catalogue the divisions a and b refer to the stimulating regions of respective +56 2617 = HD 206267 = Boss 30322, and +57 2374 = HD 206773 = Boss 30408."

Cederblad, S. (1946) [VII/231]

Ced 195b (IC 1396b)

Position (1900): RA 22 39.3, Dec + 57 17

Star: +57 2374 (Mp=6.90, V=6.98, SpT=Bonne)

Spectrum of nebula: emission spectrum (inferred from sp.t. of exciting star)

Classification: Neb associated with mainly one star (which may be multiple) - star surrounded by a neb envelope with conspicuous structure (eg. IC 5146)

Size: 150'x150'

Notes: "The region of IC 1396, Disc. Barnard 1894 (54). (79, 93 Pl 49, 482, 486, 717, 726 No 22). R. In the catalogue the divisions a and b refer to the stimulating regions of respective +56 2617 = HD 206267 = Boss 30322, and +57 2374 = HD 206773 = Boss 30408."

Lynds, B.T. (1965)

Beverly Lynds (Astrophysical Journal Supplement, No 105, 1965) in her Catalogue of Bright Nebulae divides it up into two sections, IC 1396A & B. Both nebulae are considerably bright and more prominent on the red POSS plate. IC 1396A measures 14' x 2' and IC 1396B measures 12' x 4'.

Bernes, C. (1977)

Bernes, C. (1977) A catalogue of bright nebulosities in opaque dust clouds.

Bernes 36 and Bernes 37 are part of IC 1396

Photo index

by Jim Lucyk: Sky&Tel. 8/79 p129, Astronomy mag. 4/86 p100, Astronomy mag. 9/78 p25, Astronomy mag. 11/85 p50, Astronomy mag. 12/86 p41, Deep Sky #7 Su84 p29, Deep Sky #24 Fa88 p20, Vehrenberg's Atlas of DS Splendors (3ed) p227, Deep Sky #19 Su87 p20, Vehrenberg's Atlas of Galactic Neb-2 p111, 119, 123, 124.

Modern observations

(IAAC) Randy Moench

Observer: Randy Moench

Your skill: Intermediate

Date and UT of observation: 12/26/97 19:30 MST; 12/27/97 02:30 UTC

Location & latitude: Poudre Park, Colorado, 40d 41'

Site classification: Rural

Limiting magnitude (visual): 5.9

Seeing (1 to 5 - best to worst): 4

Moon up (phase?): No

Instrument: 7 inch f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain with 80 mm f/3.2 finder.

Magnification: 83, 109, 148, 193.

Filters used: Orion Skyglow, Lumicon UHC and OIII.

Object: IC1396 and Trumpler 37

Category: Open cluster with nebulosity.

Constellation: Cepheus

Object data: Mag: 3.5, Size: 154.0'x140.0', Number of stars: 50, Mag. of

brightest star: 3.8 F,eL neby,incl. Struve 2816.

RA/DE: RA: 21h 39m 6s Dec: +57=B0 47' 00"

Description: A beautiful triple star association marks the center of my 52' field of view. The brightest star in the association appears to be SAO33626 according to my skycharting software - SkyMap. To my eyes the brightest appears to be then "center" star of the three having the most "yellow" appearance. Each star in the triplet offers a different color making it a real gem. The cluster is designated Trumpler 37 in the heart of IC1396. Other notable doubles lie in the 31' field of my 18-mm eyepiece. Above (east?) of the triple lies a pair with quite unequal magnitudes. The companion was best seen with averted vision, becoming more apparent at 193 times with my 13.8-mm eyepiece. Another faint pairing lies below and right (SW?) of the bright triple. No nebulosity was detected in either the widefield 80-mm refractor or the 7-inch Maksutov using Skyview, UHC or OIII filters. Conspicuous in the 5-degree field of the 80-mm finder was mu Cephei, magnitude 4. A very yellow/red star. Probably the reddest I've seen to date.

Randy Moench

Northern Colorado Astronomical Society

http://lamar.colostate.edu/~rmoench/ncasrdm.html

Sanford (1989) Observing the Constellations

Sanford notes that "there are dust lanes .. seen in 16-inch f/5 with a nebular filter." He adds that it can be captured on film with a modest photographic set-up such as a 135mm lens, in about a 10-minute exposure at f/3.5 with one of the superfast films ... like Konica 3200, Fuji 1600 and Kodak Ektar 1000."

[amastro] Re: the Elephant's Trunk

Hi All

The nebulous cluster IC 1396 happens to be a favorite object of mine and observing it has become a summer ritual for me.

I first encountered this object using my treasured little TeleVue Oracle - a 76mm f/7.4 refractor - at low power ( 23X ) and an [OIII] filter. A large weak glow with ragged borders and a few prominent dark nebulae were visible in the nearly 3 degree field. My 18" reflector revealed a pretty bright glow streaked with dark nebulae-Barnard 161 is the most distinct dust cloud and is shaped somewhat like an arrowhead...

The use of the [OIII] filter made the superimposed dark nebulae jump out against the bright nebulosity- indeed, the finger- like projection LDN 1105 was invisible without the filter. However, the use of the filter did little to enhance the bright rim that surrounds LDN 1105 ( The ' Elephant Trunk ' ). A Hydrogen-Beta filter proved useless. I finally spotted the bright rim at 260X without a filter and I found the glow most strongly defined to the WSW of the head of the dark globule. A view of the region using a 15" reflector belonging to Alex Langoussis gave a similar view.

I had no luck with the weak reflection nebula Bernes 37 surrounding GSC 3975:396. However , my notes indicate that the sky was 'soft' on this particular evening due to periodic brief rain showers that had moved in from the sea earlier. As a final note , the HII region Sharpless 2-132, located about 6 degrees east of IC 1396, is quite a spectacular object in it's own right - although it doesn't seem to get much attention from most observers.

I've never particularly cared for the generic name ' Elephant Trunk' for LDN 1105 as I associate that term with the dark filaments in the Rosette Nebula. The "partially ionized globule" ( PIG ) label was mentioned in an old issue of the PASP as one of the worst ever acronyms coined by astronomers ( the worst was CRAP - something to do with "... related accretion process"- who says astronomers don't have a sense of humor ). I prefer the European term ' Wormtrack' but thats just me...

Dave Riddle

Tom Lorenzin

Tom Lorenzin, in the electronic version of "1000+ The Amateur Astronomers' Field Guide to Deep Sky Observing", notes: "3.5M; Very large, faint nebulosity complex; 135' x 165' extent; includes 5M MTPL ST ADS 15184; like very faint Rosette; sweep with N-filter and wide-field, or use N-filtered binoculars; just SW of 4M RED VAR ST Mu CEP."

Favourite lists

Lacaille's catalogue

The Messier objects

Dunlop's catalogue

The Bennett objects

The Caldwell list

Named DSOs

Object search

First search phrase

    and

Second search phrase

Type of object to include:

open cluster
globular cluster
planetary nebula
bright nebula
dark nebula
galaxy
galaxy cluster
asterism & stars
unverified/lost
nova

The Bug Report

DOCdb is still in beta-release.

Known issues, feature requests, and updates on bug fixes, are here:

> Bug Report

Feedback

Found a bug? Have a comment or suggestion to improve DOCdb? Please let us know!

> Contact us

Help!

DOCdb is a free online resource that exists to promote deep sky observing.

You could help by sharing your observations, writing an article, digitizing and proof-reading historical material, and more.

> Find out more

Everything on DOCdb.net is © 2004-2010 by Auke Slotegraaf, unless stated otherwise or if you can prove you have divine permission to use it. Before using material published here, please consult the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.5 License. Some material on DOCdb is copyright the individual authors. If in doubt, don't reproduce. And that goes for having children, too. Please note that the recommended browser for DOCdb is Firefox 3.x. You may also get good results with K-Meleon. Good luck if you're using IE. A successful experience with other browsers, including Opera and Safari, may vary.