Sh2-131

IC 1396 - Sh2-131 is a very sparse open cluster associated with a large diffuse nebula, visible in the boreal constellation of Cepheus; it is located in a stretch of the Milky Way partially obscured by dense banks of dark nebulae, in a galactic region rich in dust and neutral gas with associated young and hot blue stars. Its position is easily identifiable, immediately south of the star μ Cephei, one of the reddest stars known; However, identifying the cluster itself is not easy, because it is very dispersed and almost blends in with the surrounding star field. What appears clearly evident in long-exposure photos taken through a telescope is the large nebulous complex surrounding the cluster; its appearance is roughly circular and crossed by numerous dark spots, which upon closer inspection reveal themselves to be Bok globules, i.e. particularly concentrated regions of the nebula where the formation of new stars occurs. It is therefore an H II region, and is part of a vast system of molecular clouds and OB associations called the Cepheus Nebular Complex.

A particular dark nebula that overlaps the object, vdB 142, is also called Elephant's Trunk. IC 1396 is about 3000 light-years away from the Sun.