The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC 1396 located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth. The piece of the nebula shown here is the dark, dense globule IC 1396A; it is commonly called the Elephant’s Trunk nebula because of its appearance at visible light wavelengths, where there is a dark patch with a bright, sinuous rim. The bright rim is the surface of the dense cloud that is being illuminated and ionized by a very bright, massive star (HD 206267) that is just to the east of IC 1396A. The entire IC 1396 region is ionized by the massive star, except for dense globules that can protect themselves from the star’s harsh ultraviolet rays.
The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula is a site of star formation, containing several very young (less than 100,000 yr) stars that were discovered in infrared images in 2003. Two older stars are present in a small, circular cavity in the head of the globule. Winds from these young stars may have emptied the cavity.
The combined action of the light from the massive star ionizing and compressing the rim of the cloud, and the wind from the young stars shifting gas from the center outward lead to very high compression in the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula. This pressure has triggered the current generation of protostars.
Deneb and Surrounding Nebulas in Cygnus
NGC 7000 (North American Nebula), IC 5070 (Pelican Nebula), NGC 6888, IC 5146, IC 1396 and others.
Photographed with Nikon D800 DSLR camera and 50 mm lens on Astrotracker in Åva, Septetember 2020. Exposure was 12.5 min at f 2.8 and ISO 800. Very high humidity and some condense on the lens.
Deneb and Surrounding Nebulas in Cygnus
NGC 7000 (North American Nebula), IC 5070 (Pelican Nebula), NGC 6888, IC 5146, IC 1396 and others.
Photographed with Nikon D800 DSLR camera and 50 mm lens on Astrotracker in Åva, Septetember 2020. Exposure was 12.5 min at f 2.8 and ISO 800. Very high humidity and some condense on the lens.
IC 1396 Elephant trunk
The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC 1396 located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth. The piece of the nebula shown here is the dark, dense globule IC 1396A; it is commonly called the Elephant’s Trunk nebula because of its appearance at visible light wavelengths, where there is a dark patch with a bright, sinuous rim. The bright rim is the surface of the dense cloud that is being illuminated and ionized by a very bright, massive star (HD 206267) that is just to the east of IC 1396A. The entire IC 1396 region is ionized by the massive star, except for dense globules that can protect themselves from the star’s harsh ultraviolet rays.
Mosaic of two pictures photographed with APO 107 mm refractor telescope and ASI 2600MC color camera in Stuvsta, October 2021. Exposure was 25*3 min and 30 * 3 min with IDAS LPS D2 light pollution filter.
IC 1396 Elephant trunk
The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC 1396 located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth.
The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula is thought to be a site of star formation, containing several very young (less than 100,000 yr) stars. The combined action of the light from the massive star ionizing and compressing the rim of the cloud, and the wind from the young stars shifting gas from the center outward lead to very high compression in the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula. This pressure has triggered the current generation of protostars.
Photographed with APO 107 mm refractor telescope and Atik 360EX CCD camera in Åva, September 2019. Exposure was 36 min LRGB and 30 min Ha, using the EQ6 mount instead of the AVX mount for the first time.
IC 1396 Elephant trunk
The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC 1396 located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth.
The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula is thought to be a site of star formation, containing several very young (less than 100,000 yr) stars. The combined action of the light from the massive star ionizing and compressing the rim of the cloud, and the wind from the young stars shifting gas from the center outward lead to very high compression in the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula. This pressure has triggered the current generation of protostars.
Photographed with APO 107mm refractor telescope and Atik 360EX CCD camera in Åva, September 2019. Exposure was 36 min LRGB and 39 min Ha using the new EQ6 mount.
IC 1396, Elephant trunk
Mosaic of two pictures photographed with the APO 94 mm refractor telescope and the ASI 2600MC color CMOS camera in Åva, October 3rd, 2024. Exposure was 18 and 19 * 3 min with IDAS LPSD2 light pollution filter. Postprocessing was done in Pixinsight.
IC 1396, Elephant trunk
Mosaic of two pictures photographed with the APO 94 mm refractor telescope and the ASI 2600MC color CMOS camera in Åva, October 3rd, 2024. Exposure was 18 and 19 * 3 min with IDAS LPSD2 light pollution filter. Postprocessing was done in Pixinsight.
IC 1396 Elephant trunk
Photographed with APO 107 mm refractor telescope and ASI 2600MC color camera in Stuvsta, September 2021. Exposure was 45*3 min with IDAS LPS D2 light pollution filter.
