Astronomy Picture of the Day · December 26, 2008

The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 26, 2008 is “The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Credit & Copyright: Gordon Haynes). The original explanation runs about 169 words.

From the explanation

“Like an illustration in a galactic Just So Story , the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and young star cluster complex IC 1396 , in the high and far off constellation of Cepheus . Of course, this cosmic elephant’s trunk is over 20 light-years long.”

— APOD editors, December 26, 2008

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: December 26, 2008
Type: Image
Credit: Credit & Copyright: Gordon Haynes
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 169 words

All of December 2008 → · 2008 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Nebulae Star clusters

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 26 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, December 26, 2008 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2008-december-26-the-elephants-trunk-in-ic-1396

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.