With the glow of street lamps and trees covering the horizon up to 60 * it is hard, but… possible 
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At this time of year, there are some interesting objects almost at its zenith. One of them is the huge IC1396 complex, the most famous and popular object of which is the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula (also known as van den Bergh 142). With its unique shape and effective play of shadows, it attracts astro-photographers all over the world. It’s hard to believe that in September and October we have it above our heads every night. IC 1396 is an open star cluster associated with the emission nebula region. It lies in the constellation of Cepheus, occupying a space spanning hundreds of thousands of light years. According to Wikipedia the IC 1396 cluster is 3,000 light-years away from Earth and still is an active region where new stars born.
Today’s tools for working with astrophotographic material provide great editing possibilities. Below, a frame devoid of stars with a nebula and dust clouds in the foreground. Star extraction is the result of working with the StarNet tool in PixInsight. The universe is full of breathtaking views… nature is beautiful.
Photo taken with APO 130/910 refractor on iOptron CEM70EC mount, QHY268M camera with H-alpha 6nm filter. The total exposure time is 2 hours and 40 minutes (16 x 600s) plus BIAS, DARK, FLAT calibration frames. Procesing and postprocesing in Pixinsight.
