C19 · nebula

Cocoon Nebula

IC 5146 is a reflection/emission nebula and Caldwell object in the constellation Cygnus.

RA21h 53m 28sDec+47° 15' 59"

Image: ESA/Herschel/SPIRE/PACS/D. Arzoumanian CEA Saclay. Source: ESA via images.nasa.gov.

Identity & coordinates

Identification

Primary designation: C19
All designations: C19 · IC 5146 · Cocoon Nebula
Object type: Nebula
Constellation: Cygnus
Best viewing: Summer · Autumn

Coordinates & physical

Right ascension (J2000): 21h 53m 28s
Declination (J2000): +47° 15' 59"
Apparent magnitude (V): —
Distance: —

III

Visibility tonight

The science

IC 5146 is a reflection/emission nebula 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 21h 53.5m , dec +47° 16′. It is located near the naked-eye star Pi Cygni, the open cluster NGC 7209 in Lacerta, 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.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia · CC-BY-SA-4.0