NGC7380 · Wizard Nebula

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Credit T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and… · CC BY 4.0

Chinese name	巫师星云
Type	Emission nebula
Constellation	Cep
RA	22h47m
Dec	+58°
Apparent magnitude	7.2ᵐ
Hemisphere	Northern
Best season	Autumn
Difficulty	Moderate
Focal length	中长焦 800–1200mm

About

The Wizard Nebula lies about 7,200 light-years away in Cepheus and surrounds the young open cluster NGC 7380, named for the way its gas and dust resemble a robed, pointy-hatted wizard. The cluster is only a few million years old, and its massive stars ionize the surrounding hydrogen and sculpt dense dust pillars and bright ionization rims with their strong winds and ultraviolet radiation. The nebula's body is dominated by red-emitting hydrogen, spans roughly 100 light-years, and shows rich layered structure in SHO narrowband images. With moderate surface brightness, it suits a medium-to-long focal length paired with narrowband filters. It is a popular shape-based target in the autumn Cepheus Milky Way.