Like the illustration in Just So Story's Milky Way, the Elephant Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and the young star cluster complex IC 1396, in the distant constellation Cephei. Also known as vdB 142, as seen on the left, the nose of the cosmic elephant is more than 20 light years long. Through digital processing, no stars can be seen in this detailed telescope close-up view, highlighting bright sweeping ridges that outline pockets of cold interstellar gas and dust. But the dark tendril cloud contains the raw material for star formation and hides the protostar inside. About 3,000 light years away, the relatively weak IC 1396 complex covers a large area in the sky, extending more than 5 degrees. However, this starless interpretation spans a 1 degree wide field of view, which is about the angular size of 2 full moons. Of course, the dark shapes below and on the right side march towards the meandering trunk, which some people call a caravan.
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