260911 - Sh2-142 "Wizard" nebula
ASTRO:
type=Emission nebula
mag=7.2
const=Cepheus
dist=8500 ly
size=62 ly
IMAGE:
location=Marathon, TX, USA
BrtlCls=1
moon=(new)
exposure=CMOS OSC, 112x300s (9.3h), G100
palette="Natural" HOO
EQUIPMENT:
optics=ES102CF APO / Stellarvue 1.0x fld-fltnr, FL=714mm, f/7.0
camera=ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro
filter=Optolong L-eXtreme Duo NB
mount=Celestron AVX
guiding=Orion 60x240mm, ZWO ASi224MC
SOFTWARE:
acquisition=Stellarium, NINA, PHD2
processing=PixInsight (RC Astro, SetiAstro), Photoshop (Lumenzia, APF-R), LrC
click image to enlarge
What powers are being wielded in the Wizard Nebula? Gravitation strong enough to form stars, and stellar wind and radiation powerful enough to create and dissolve towers of gas. Located about 8,000 light years away, the Wizard nebula featured in this image surrounds developing open star cluster NGC 7380. Visually, the interplay of stars, gas, and dust has created a shape that appears to some like a fictional medieval sorcerer. The active star forming region spans about 100 light years, making it appear larger than the Full Moon. The Wizard Nebula can be located with a small telescope toward the constellation of the King of Aethiopia (Cepheus). Although the nebula may last only a few million years, some of the stars being formed may outlive our Sun.
Sh2-142 (also known as NGC 7380) is a young open cluster of stars in Cepheus which is a circumpolar constellation. The cluster was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1787. The surrounding emission nebulosity spans an angle of 25 arc-minutes. German-born astronomer William Herschel included his sister's discovery in his catalog.
The Wizard is extremely difficult to observe visually, usually requiring very dark skies and an O-III filter. The Sh2-142 complex is located in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. The star cluster spans appx 20 light-years with an elongated shape and an extended tail. Age estimates range from 4 to 12 M years. At the center of the cluster lies the star, DH Cephei, a close, double-lined spectroscopic binary system consisting of two massive O-type stars. This pair are the primary ionizing source for the surrounding H-II region, and are driving out the surrounding gas and dust while triggering star formation in the neighboring region.
IMAGER'S COMMENTS:
We've collected a lot of data on this object over the years, beginning all the way back in 2020 when the ES102 telescope was first acquired; and, we were still using a DSLR camera. Until now, the latest data we had was from 2024; and that data, acquired over back-to-back nights in our East Texas backyard, was collected using the (at that time) new ASI2600MCp.
We intended to collect additional data on this object last year (2025) when we traveled together with our friends of the Astronomical Society of East Texas to the dark skies of Marathon in West Texas. But at that time, a slight of hand resulted in our erroneously collecting data on a different object. ...So, this object was relegated to waiting for another year; ...until now.
Once again the dark skies of Marathon proved to be exceptional toward collection of pristine data. In terms of quality, the resulting image definitely ranks it toward the upper-end of the gallery.
The benefit of dark skies just simply cannot be emphasized enough... Even though we only increased the volume of our data input by ~25%, the high quality of that addition has resulted in an order of magnitude improvement in our previous rendition of this object.
Dark Skies RULE !!
IMAGER'S COMMENTS:
We've collected a lot of data on this object over the years, beginning all the way back in 2020 when the ES102 telescope was first acquired; and, we were still using a DSLR camera. Until now, the latest data we had was from 2024; and that data, acquired over back-to-back nights in our East Texas backyard, was collected using the (at that time) new ASI2600MCp.
We intended to collect additional data on this object last year (2025) when we traveled together with our friends of the Astronomical Society of East Texas to the dark skies of Marathon in West Texas. But at that time, a slight of hand resulted in our erroneously collecting data on a different object. ...So, this object was relegated to waiting for another year; ...until now.
Once again the dark skies of Marathon proved to be exceptional toward collection of pristine data. In terms of quality, the resulting image definitely ranks it toward the upper-end of the gallery.
The benefit of dark skies just simply cannot be emphasized enough... Even though we only increased the volume of our data input by ~25%, the high quality of that addition has resulted in an order of magnitude improvement in our previous rendition of this object.
Dark Skies RULE !!