The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396.

Like a picture from a galactic Just So Story , the Elephant's Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and young star cluster complex IC 1396 , in the high and far off constellation of Cepheus . Bright swept-back ridges compose the suggestive form, outlining pockets of interstellar dust and gas. Such embedded dark, comet-shaped clouds contain the raw material for star formation . About 3,000 light-years distant , the relatively faint IC 1396 complex covers a much larger region on the sky than shown here, with an apparent width of more than 10 full moons. This close-up telescopic view is a delightful color mosaic of two digital images intended to follow the 'satiable curious cosmic trunk.