An emission nebula characterized by the dense, sinuous patch of gas that appears like an elephant's trunk in the bottom half of this image.

This is some better data on the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula, IC 1396, than I’ve gotten before. I chose to frame it this time with William Herschel’s Garnet Star

I had previously captured it during a break in 2023’s Canadian wildfire smoke but wasn’t particularly happy with that result.

Frames
180
Time
1h 40m
Exposure
60s
Mode
HGM2
Gain
56
Offset
25
Telescope
William Optics RedCat 71 WIFD
Mount
Losmandy GM-8 German Equatorial Mount, Gemini 2, Losmandy FLW Tripod
Camera
QHY 268C
Guider
QHY 5III7C
Filters
Optolong L-eNhance dual-band pass Filter
Accessories
ZWO EAF Electronic Automatic Focuser, iOptron iPolar
Software
N.I.N.A., PHD2 Guiding, SkySafari Pro, AstroPixelProcessor, Capture One