A strong composition of red emission and dark molecular dust, with the trunk cutting into the glowing field.
- What am I looking at?
- The Elephant's Trunk Nebula is a dense pillar of gas and dust inside a larger emission nebula in Cepheus.
- How far away is it?
- About 2,400 light-years away.
- Where is it in the sky?
- In Cepheus, in the northern Milky Way.
- Why does it matter?
- The trunk shape shows how radiation and winds erode nebulae while triggering star formation.
- When is the best time to photograph it?
- Late summer through autumn when Cepheus is well placed.
Capture summary
Nebula in Cepheus
Ha, OIII, SII
Ha, OIII, SII
Autumn target / wide composition
- Chroma 36mm Ha 5nm 4h 25m 53 x 300s
- Chroma 36mm Sii 5nm 4h 10m 50 x 300s
- Chroma 36mm Oiii 5nm 4h 10m 50 x 300s
- Totals 12h 45m
Same target, different years.
Older revisions stay in the archive so you can see how the target changed with different equipment, processing, and experience.
When to image this target
Nebula in Cepheus; best planned for September through November from New Jersey.
Autumn is a strong window for Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and late Cygnus fields.
Assumes a New Jersey backyard horizon and evening imaging.
Emission nebulae are good candidates for narrowband filters; reflection nebulae prefer darker skies.
IC 1396 is listed here in Cepheus.
Current frame: Narrowband / Ha, OIII, SII.
Live altitude, moon, and filter guidance
Calculating target altitude and moon context.
Use the full planner to enter a ZIP code, choose a date, and compare the target from your sky.
Based on the current time.
Green marks usable dark-sky altitude.
Next upper transit.
Approximate horizon crossing.
Moon phase and altitude.
Acquisition & processing notes
Filter channels, integration times, and capture dates for this frame.
- Chroma 36mm Ha 5nm 53 x 300s, 4h 25m
- Chroma 36mm Sii 5nm 50 x 300s, 4h 10m
- Chroma 36mm Oiii 5nm 50 x 300s, 4h 10m
- Totals 12h 45m
How I captured this
| Channel | Frames | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Chroma 36mm Ha 5nm | 53 x 300s | 4h 25m |
| Chroma 36mm Sii 5nm | 50 x 300s | 4h 10m |
| Chroma 36mm Oiii 5nm | 50 x 300s | 4h 10m |
| Totals | — | 12h 45m |
- Equipment used
- From my current rig
- Mount
- iOptron CEM60
- Telescope
- Explore Scientific FCD100 127mm Carbon Fiber Triplet APO
- Camera
- ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Filters
- Chroma 36mm Ha, OIII, SII, and LRGB (ZWO EFW 7×36mm)
- Focuser / rotator
- MoonLite NiteCrawler
- Reducer
- Starizona Apex ED 0.65×
- Guiding
- ZWO off-axis guider + ASI290MM Mini
- Control / power
- PrimaLuceLab Eagle 4S, Powerwerx PSU, Bioenno field battery, and MEGAbox
