Cosmic nebula with dark pillars of gas and dust.

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula, a dense column of interstellar gas and dust inside the larger IC 1396 emission region in the constellation Cepheus, roughly 2,400 light-years from Earth. Captured in narrowband hydrogen-alpha, sulfur-II and oxygen-III light and rendered in a teal and crimson palette. Deep sky astrophotography, telescope image of a star-forming nebula, dark dust lanes, dense starfield, cosmic background — suitable for science, space, education, wallpaper and editorial use.

wallace Henry Bay Area, California