The Elephant's Trunk Nebula: IC 1396A | WIYN Telescope

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula: IC 1396A | WIYN Telescope

This image of the Elephant's Trunk Nebula was taken with the Mosaic camera on the WIYN 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. The Elephant's Trunk is a dense, elongated cloud of gas inside a bright cluster of stars known as IC 1396. The trunk conceals many young protostars that are in the process of forming. It is located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth.

Credit: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and WIYN/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Release Date: June 30, 2020

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