Above: Elephant Trunk Nebula as processed in 2015.
Below: Elephant Trunk Nebula - same data reprocessed in March 2020
There is a 2021 image with larger Field of View: HERE
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 west 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 now thought to be 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 (but still young, a couple of million years, by the standards of stars, which live for billions of years) stars are present in a small, circular cavity in the head of the globule. Winds from these young stars may have emptied the cavity.
Imaging telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FSQ106ED
Imaging cameras: ATIK 460 EX Mono
Mounts: Takahashi EM 400 Temma 2
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FS 60 CB
Guiding cameras: QHY CCD QHY 5 II
Software: PHD 2, Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight , Sequence Generator Pro SGP
Filters: Astrodon OIII 3nm, Astrodon SII 3nm, Astrodon Ha 3nm
Accessories: Robofocus Focuser, ATIK EFW2
Resolution: 1229x1793
Dates: May 16, 2015
Frames: 18x1800"
Integration: 9.0 hours
Avg. Moon age: 27.14 days
Avg. Moon phase: 6.31%
RA center: 323.608 degrees
DEC center: 57.473 degrees
Pixel scale: 1.767 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: -80.771 degrees
Field radius: 0.534 degrees
The Elephant's Trunk nebula is now thought to be 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 (but still young, a couple of million years, by the standards of stars, which live for billions of years) stars are present in a small, circular cavity in the head of the globule. Winds from these young stars may have emptied the cavity.
Imaging telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FSQ106ED
Imaging cameras: ATIK 460 EX Mono
Mounts: Takahashi EM 400 Temma 2
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FS 60 CB
Guiding cameras: QHY CCD QHY 5 II
Software: PHD 2, Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight , Sequence Generator Pro SGP
Filters: Astrodon OIII 3nm, Astrodon SII 3nm, Astrodon Ha 3nm
Accessories: Robofocus Focuser, ATIK EFW2
Resolution: 1229x1793
Dates: May 16, 2015
Frames: 18x1800"
Integration: 9.0 hours
Avg. Moon age: 27.14 days
Avg. Moon phase: 6.31%
RA center: 323.608 degrees
DEC center: 57.473 degrees
Pixel scale: 1.767 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: -80.771 degrees
Field radius: 0.534 degrees
