This image shows only the light radiated from ionized hydrogen to emphasize the fine details within the emission nebula.
The bright star at the very top is mu Cephei, William Herschel's famous 'Garnet Star', named by him for its deep red color.
It is one of the largest known stars, with a diameter of more than 1000x of our sun.
The small, but very bright spot near the lower edge is the emission nebula SH2-128.
Because of the size of IC 1396, the final image is a mosaic of twelve separate images.