SVX140T - IC 1396A

Michael Schneider captured this spectacular shot of the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula (IC 1396A) in Cepheus using his SVX140T. This emission nebula is located approximately 2,400 light-years away from Earth and contains several very young stars that were discovered in infrared images in 2003. This entire region is ionized by the massive star HD 206267, except for dense globules that are able to protect themselves from the star's harsh ultraviolet rays.

According to Michael:
“Here is my recent image of The Elephant Trunk Nebula imaged with my SVX140T. I submitted a previous version shot with my older 102 Raptor, but this one takes on a completely different quality. I am blown away with the quality of the 140’s optics! My decision to go with a mono setup is now justified after working with this image.”

Other Designations: Elephant’s Trunk, IC 1396A.

Details:

Telescope: Stellarvue SVX140T

Focuser: Moonlite Nitecrawler WR35

Field Flattener: Stellarvue SFFX-3

Camera: QHY 600M

Guide Camera: QHY 5III585M

Mount: Astro Physics Mach2 GTO

Filters: Chroma 5nm Ha, SII and OIII

Accessories:

• PrimaLuce Eagle 6 Pro
• QHY 7x2" filter wheel
• QHY-M- Pro OAG (Off-Axis Guider)

Planning App: Telescopious, Sky Safari Pro

Software:

• N.I.N.A. (For capture)
• PHD2 (For guiding)
• PixInsight (For processing)
• Photoshop - final edits

Integration Time: 300s x 217 frames (18 hours 5 minutes total)

References:

Wikipedia contributors. (2025, December 29). Elephant’s Trunk Nebula. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_Trunk_Nebula

Wikipedia contributors. (2026, May 21). IC 1396. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_1396