The Elephant's Trunk Nebula is located in the constellation Cepheus and is a concentration of ionised gas and dust. The nebula has the catalogue designation IC1396 and IC1396A for the trunk itself and can be seen from the northern hemisphere in late summer and autumn. The nebula is about 2'400 light years away from our solar system. There are also many dark nebulae in this large emission nebula. For example Barnard 161 and LDN 1102.