Image of VDB 142 (The Elephant's Trunk Nebula) taken from DGRO Rancho Hidaldo Animas, New Mexico. A collection of dust and gas nebulae in the northern Milky Way graces the high and far off constellation of Cepheus. With colours based on astronomical filters, this close up of the region highlights stars embedded in curiously shaped cosmic clouds.
The area's bright reddish emission nebulae indicate the presence of clouds of atomic hydrogen gas. Representing the stuff stars are made of, all these nebulae lie within the large young star cluster complex IC 1396, 3,000 light-years from Earth.