Elephant’s Trunk Nebula (IC1396) Imaged by Chris Thayer

 IC 1396 is an emission nebula in the constellation of Cephus. It is a mix of gas and dust clouds; the gas is energised by a bright, central star. This region spannsing over three degrees on the sky and yet is nearly 3,000 light-years away.  The winding Elephant’s Trunk nebula seen here is only a small part of IC1396.

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Elephant’s Trunk Nebula

Images using an ED80 and Meade DSI3mono and guided using an LX200GPS.

Exposure: 11 frames of 4min using an Ha Filter