About image
IC 1396 is a very scattered open cluster associated with a large diffuse nebula, visible in the boreal constellation of Cepheus; it is located in a stretch of the Milky Way partially obscured by dense banks of dark nebulae, in a galactic region rich in dust and gas with associated young and hot stars.
The nebula has a roughly circular appearance: the combination of telescope and sensor used to take this image did not allow it to be taken in full, but in the image you can guess its circular shape.
The whole nebula is crossed by numerous dark spots, which on closer analysis turn out to be Bok globules, that is particularly concentrated regions of the nebula where the formation of new stars takes place.
It is therefore an H II region, and is part of a vast system of molecular clouds and OB associations called the Cepheus Cloud Complex.
A particular dark nebula that overlaps the object is also called Elephant's Trunk and is identified with the initials vdb 142.
The whole nebula complex is about 3000 light-years from the Sun.
Technical data
Optic Tecnosky Apo refractor LT 130-910 with Riccardi reducer 0.75x (focal lenght 692mm, f/5.3)
Mount Skywatcher EQ8
Camera Moravian G3-16200 CCD with external filter
wheel 7 positions
Filters Baader 50mm unmounted RGB and Ha 7nm
Guiding system Artesky Ultraguide 70mm
Exposure details R 30x300" bin1 -15C
G 28x300" bin1 -15C
B 25x300" bin1 -15C
Ha 40x600" bin1 -15C
Total integration 13h35'
Acquisition Voyager, PHD2
Processing Pixinsight 1.8,
Photoshop CS5, StarXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator
SQM-L 18.5
Location Rescaldina (Italy), home terrace
Date 18/19/20 September 2022