Exposures: 5 hrs of Ha (15 minute subs) over two nights.
Imaged through a Hydrogen alpha filter permitting only light within a 3 nm bandwidth centered on a peak wavelength of 656.28 nm to reach the camera. This enables reasonable imaging during a full moon. Portrayed in native monochrome.
This image shows only a small portion of IC 1396 - a large emission nebula in Cepheus. The "elephant's trunk" is a cometary nebula - a band of dust and gas- being pushed away by radiation from a bright star near the top of the globule. Jets and particle winds emitted from this bright star radiate the ambient ionized hydrogen and dust.
FOV = 96 x 65 arc minutes
3,000 light years away
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