Among them are the red supergiant star Mu Cephei; the double stars Struve 2816 and Struve 2819; the dark nebula van den Bergh 142, known as the Elephant Trunk Nebula; dark nebula Barnard 161 (just ...

IC 1396’s most famous feature is IC 1396A, better known as the Elephant Trunk Nebula. The trunk of this dark nebula is formed by an irregular pillar of dust many light-years long.

Editor's Note: This story was updated on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 12:20 p.m. E.T. Ursa Major, the Tadpole Galaxy, the Crab Nebula — when it comes to naming objects in space, it sometimes seems like ...