IC 1396

Often called the Elephant's Trunk Nebula, IC 1396 is one of the largest nebulae in the sky, spanning some 3 degrees of sky in the constellation Cepheus. The name is derived from a portion of the cloud that is only faintly visible straight left of the bright star in the center. It is a region of star formation that contains dust lanes giving it a sinuous shape. At the bottom of the frame is the star Mu Cephei, one of the largest stars ever discovered. It is a red supergiant, larger than the orbit of Saturn, more than 2 billion miles in diameter. The distinctly red color of the star is overexposed on this image.

Image taken over several nights in early November, 2009, with the ST-8 camera and the 135mm Nikkor lens. Exposure is 90 minutes.