IC 1396, often referred to as the Elephant Trunk nebula, is a large emission nebula in the constellation Cepheus. It’s named for the area of gas and dust reassembling an Elephant’s trunk extending up from the lower left of the region. The colors in the image represent the reflection of light from different gasses including Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sulfur.  

This image was created from over 15 hours of exposure on the target, all captured in May and June 2024.