IC 1396 · ELEPHANT'S TRUNK SEP 2025
§ DEEP-SKY · TARGET
IC 1396
Elephant's Trunk
- TYPE
- Emission nebula + globule
- CONSTELLATION
- Cepheus
- DISTANCE
- 2,400 ly
- MAGNITUDE
- +3.5
- APPARENT SIZE
- 170' × 140'
ACQUISITION
DATE
Sep 2025
LOCATION
Anza-Borrego, CA · Bortle 2
INTEGRATION
9h 00m
PALETTE
SHO
SUBS
540 × 60s
SEEING
2.1"
FILTERS
SII · Ha · OIII
A dense globule of dust and gas within the larger IC 1396 complex, backlit by ionized hydrogen from HD 206267. The trunk is actively forming stars.
§ 01 · THE NIGHT
How this one came together
This is the favorite from 2025. The SHO palette came out without much fighting -- I think because the dust contrast in this region is genuinely strong, not something I had to invent in post.
§ 02 · PROCESSING
Workflow
- SHO with a mild Foraxx blend
- Detail recovered on the bright globule with a luminance mask
- Color calibration run against a starfield reference
§ 03 · GEAR
Equipment
- SCOPE
- Printed 200/800 Newt · OTA v1.3
- CAMERA
- ASI2600MM Pro
- MOUNT
- EQ6-R Pro
- FILTERS
- Antlia SHO
- GUIDING
- OAG