How to photograph the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula (IC 1396)
A vast emission region with a dark, winding trunk of dust.
Photo byRam samudrala(CC BY 4.0)
When to shoot it from your location
About the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula
IC 1396 is a ring of glowing hydrogen around a young cluster, with the Elephant’s Trunk globule pushing into it. It is high overhead for northern observers in late summer and fall.
Gear and framing
The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula spans about 2.8° of sky. It frames best with:
- Telephoto (85-300mm lens)
- Small refractor (250-600mm)
You can see how other people have built their rigs on RigDesigner, including my Sony a6700 and 60mm refractor rig.
Filters
This target glows in hydrogen-alpha and oxygen-III light. A dual-band filter, or separate narrowband filters with a mono camera, lets that light through and blocks most light pollution and moonlight. It is a good choice for city skies and for nights with the Moon up.
Tips
- The whole complex fits at 200-300mm. The Trunk alone looks best at 600mm and up.
Processing
Stack your light frames with darks and flats, then remove the background gradient before stretching. AstroBake does all of this for you. Point it at your folders of raw frames, then adjust the result with live sliders.