05/12/2026
Dan Meek
Printed on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl
Image size: 11x14 inches
IC1396A, Elephant Trunk Nebula, is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC1396. Located in the constellation Cepheus, IC1396A is about 2,400 lightyears away from Earth. The nebula is a dark, dense globule with a bright sinuous rim that gets its Elephant Trunk name from its appearance at visible light wavelengths. The bright rim is the surface of the dense cloud that is being illuminated and ionized by a massive triple star system (HD206267A) which is outside the field of view of the image.