Michael Kelly caught this magnificent shot of the Elephant's Trunk in Cepheus with his SVX180T. This emission nebula is located 2,400 light-years away in the lager ionized gas region of IC 1396. The combination of light from the massive star HD 206267, that is ionizing and compressing the cloud, with the wind from the young stars shifting gas from the center outward, results in very high compression in this nebula. This pressure has created the current generation of protostars; very young stars that are still gathering mass from their parent molecular cloud.

Other Designations: IC 1396, IC 1396A.

Details:

Telescope: SVX180T

Focuser: Moonlite WR35

Flattener: SFFX-2

Camera: ZWO ASI6200

Accessories: 174mm OAG, Prima Luce Eagle 5S

Mount: Paramount MX+

Software: Sequence Generator Pro, PHd2, Sharpcap, Pixinsight

Filters: Chroma 3nm

Frames:

63x10m Ha 58x10m Oiii 50x10m Sii 30x120 RGB each Total 31h30m References:

Kalif, W. (2024, November 1). Elephant Trunk Nebula (IC 1396) Facts, Formation, Location. Telescope Nerd. https://www.telescopenerd.com/celestial-objects/elephant-trunk-nebula.htm

ThePlanets.org. (2023, March 28). Elephant’s Trunk Nebula - Facts and Info - The Planets. The Planets. https://theplanets.org/nebula-facts/elephants-trunk-nebula/

Wikipedia contributors. (2024, October 23). Elephant’s Trunk Nebula. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_Trunk_Nebula