The Elephants Trunk Nebula is a rather interesting collection of interstellar gas and dust. The most prominent feature (IC1396A) gives the nebula its name, because of its appearance as a dark patch with a bright, sinuous rim. The nebula is an active area of star formation with several very young (< 100,000 yr) stars, providing illumination on the gas/dust clouds. Its location is in the constellation of Cepheus at a distance of approx. 2400 light years.
The constellation of Cygnus is a very busy area of the Milky Way (see my "Wild Cygnus" widefield image). The most prominent object probably is the North America Nebula (NGC7000, C20) depicted in the center with the bright star Deneb on the top and left. It is "only" 2600 lightyears away and measures 90 by 140 lightyears. The Pelican Nebula (IC5067, IC 5070) sits on the top of the larger North America Nebula.
