The Elephant Trunk Nebula
Photograph by Brian E Hayward
The Elephant Trunk Nebula (IC 1396A) is a dense, star-forming region within the larger ionized gas complex of IC 1396 in the constellation Cepheus.
This vertical composition highlights the dark column of cold molecular gas and dust being shaped by radiation and stellar winds of the nearby massive star system HD 206267. Along its edges, the interaction creates elongated streams and ridges of illuminated gas while compressing denser material within the cloud, contributing to ongoing star formation.
The nebula was discovered by Edward Emerson Barnard and is located about 3,000 light years away.
This image was captured from a suburban backyard under Bortle 7 and combines narrow-band images revealing the structure of the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula while preserving natural-looking stars with broadband data.
In all, this image was created from 288 four-minute photos using a dual narrow-band filter and 113 thirty second photos of broadband data. This yielded about 20 hours of shutter time, allowing me to reveal very faint details in the structure of this nebula.
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