Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

The Elephant's Trunk in Cepheus

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 20, 2026 is “The Elephant's Trunk in Cepheus,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Eddie Sgarbossa). The original explanation runs about 136 words.

An image of a long, trunk-like interstellar cloud.
Credit and Copyright: Eddie Sgarbossa Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Like an illustration in a galactic Just So Story, the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula winds through the emission region and young star cluster complex IC 1396, in the high and far off constellation of Cepheus. Also known as vdB 142, this cosmic elephant’s trunk is over 20 light-years long.”

— APOD editors, August 20, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
August 20, 2026
Type
Image
Credit
Credit and Copyright: Eddie Sgarbossa
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 136 words

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Topics in this entry

NebulaeStar clusters

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: August 20 in other years

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Source

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.