Saturday, November 6, 2010

The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396

Of course, the cosmic elephant's trunk is over 20 light-years long.
Nearly 3,000 light-years distant, the relatively faint IC 1396 complex covers a large region on the sky, spanning over 5 degrees. This dramatic close-up covers a 2 degree wide field, about the size of 4 Full Moons.