Elephant's trunk nebula (IC 1396), Spitzer Space Telescope image. IC 1396 is located in the constellation Cepheus, 2450 light years away. Spitzer's IRAC infrared camera is able to see inside this opaque emission nebula to view the embryonic stars within. These protostars are visible as bright objects around the lower edge of the nebula. Their formation is facilitated by the wind and radiation from a nearby massive star (not shown), compressing the dense gas.