IC 1396

IC 1396 is a large and relatively faint emission nebula in the constellation of Cepheus, it is more than 100 light years across and is located at a distance of 2,400 light years from Earth.

The most notable feature, designated IC 1396A, known as the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula (bottom, centre), an elongated globule of dust and gas it is a region of star formation and stretches over 20 light years, with more than 250 young stars identified within and around it. There are two stars with an estimated age of a couple of million years, found in a small cavity in the head of the Elephant’s Trunk. The newly born protostars were formed as a result of the pressure created by the high compression caused by the radiation of the massive central star and the winds from the young stars within the nebula.

The brightest star visible in the region is Mu Cephei, also known as Herschel’s Garnet Star this luminous red supergiant or hypergiant appears at the nebula’s edge.