The Elephant Trunk Nebula  This image of the Elephant Trunk Nebula was taken with the Mosaic camera on the WIYN 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. The Elephant Trunk is a dense, elongated cloud of gas inside a bright cluster of stars known as IC 1396. The trunk conceals many young protostars that are in the process of forming. Image: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and WIYN/NOAO/AURA/NSF [high-resolution] Read NOAO Conditions of Use before downloading Caption: NOAO (via: Wired Science)