NGC7380 + SH2-142 (the Wizard Nebula)

Apr 23rd, 2025

8 h 27 m

the new processing in the HOO palette in my opinion became prettier

Nov 2nd, 2024

8 h 27 m

NGC 7380 is an open cluster of young stars in the constellation Cepheus, still embedded within the cloud of interstellar gas and dust from which they formed. The angular dimensions of the cluster and its associated nebula are such that the full Moon could completely cover them. The surrounding emission nebula is known as the Wizard Nebula. Observing it, and photographing it, by the way, is very difficult - it's a very, very faint object. My current 5 hours of integration time were barely enough to bring out the main details of the nebula, and this is despite my telescope being very fast. NGC 7380 is located approximately 8,500 light-years from the Sun, in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way. The cluster spans about 20 light-years (6 parsecs) and has an elongated shape with an extended tail. At the center of the cluster is a binary system of two massive stars. This pair is the primary source of ionization for the surrounding H II region and is pushing away the surrounding gas and dust, promoting star formation in the neighboring region.