IC 1396 is a very large cloud of ionized gas and dust located approximately 2400 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus. Within its confines is IC 1396A or commonly referred to as the Elephant Trunk Nebula because of its similar appearance. It sits on the top portion of my image pointing upwards. Most visible light images show IC 1396A as dark, however, that is because it glows in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum as does the famous Horsehead Nebula. Several very young stars have been detected in the Elephant Trunk indicating that it is an active stellar nursery.

The really bright orange star located on the lower left at the edge of the nebula is Mu Cephei or Herschel's Garnet Star. It is a red supergiant nearly 100,000 times brighter than the Sun, one of the largest known stars. If it were placed in the Sun's position it would engulf the orbit of Mars and maybe Jupiter. It is also nearing its death as it has burned up all of its hydrogen and is now fusing helium into carbon. Another region I find fascinating is the lower portion, in particular the numerous dark splotches scattered around. They are known as Bok globules and are isolated small dark nebulae, containing dense cosmic dust and gas from which star formation may take place. I also like the canyon appearance on the upper portion of the trunk, the 3d effect really pops out if you scroll in. Lastly, many images of this including my previous versions have the surrounding area darkened in order to highlight the main portion,I chose not to do that this time in order to bring out the dark nebulae scattered throughout this dusty region.

So this is my first image taken with the Askar FRA300 Pro 60mm and I am very happy with the results. I received the astrograph/telescope six months ago but I have been very busy with other things and only now have had time to activate it. Ironically it is also the first light for the replacement ASI2600MC as my old one had the dreaded grease leak. The detail I was able to pull out was much better than any of my previous attempts on this nebula.