Smoke over Cepheus – Dark Nebulae of IC 1396 North (B161, LDN 1121)

Thu Oct 01 2026

Almost everyone who points a telescope at IC 1396 frames the Elephant's Trunk. This time I went north of it, into the part that usually gets cropped out. IC 1396 (Sh2-131) is a huge cloud of hydrogen in Cepheus, roughly 2,400 to 3,000 light-years away depending on which distance estimate you go by, and about three degrees across on the sky. It's lit by HD 206267, a hot O-type multiple star near its center. Its ultraviolet light makes the surrounding gas shine and slowly wears away the denser clouds. The Trunk is the famous holdout from that process, but it isn't the only one. This frame sits north of the central stars, where the nebula is threaded with dark nebulae: Barnard 161, the compact dark knot near the top, and a group of Lynds clouds (LDN 1110 to LDN 1126) catalogued by Beverly Lynds in 1962. The standout is LDN 1121, whose bright curved edge faces back toward the central stars. I've marked four of the main features on the locator below, with close-ups of each. 📷 IC1396_detail_locator.jpg 📷 IC1396_closeup1_B161.jpg 📷 IC1396_closeup2_LDN1121.jpg 📷 IC1396_closeup3_LDN1112.jpg 📷 IC1396_closeup4_LBN456.jpg I've imaged the Trunk before, both up close and as part of a wide field of the whole nebula. This is my first close-up in this region that isn't the Trunk itself. I aimed the C8 at the dark clouds to its north instead. Same nebula, same stars, just a part that doesn't get photographed nearly as much.

About this object

Type
Star Cluster with Nebulosity
Constellation
Cepheus (the King)
Apparent size
14.0′ × 4.0′
Catalogue designations
IC 1396

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula is a star cluster with nebulosity in the constellation Cepheus (the King). It spans roughly 14.0′ × 4.0′ on the sky.

Acquisition

Equipment

Astrophotography by David Joyce, AstroDavido.