SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
Jon Greif
Location of Photo:
Julian, CA, USA
Date/Time of photo:
August 9, 2020, at 11:30 pm PDT
Equipment:
Astrotech AT72EDII 72 mm refractor, 344 mm focal length, Rainbow Astro RST-135 mount, ASI533MC Pro camera, Triad narrowband filter, ASI120MM OAG guide camera, Ekos capture software and Pixinsight processing software.
Description:
The Wizard Nebula is an emission nebula that surrounds the open star cluster NGC 7380 in the constellation Cepheus. The nebula is said to resemble the appearance of a medieval sorcerer. The active star forming region lies at a distance of 7,200 light years from Earth, has a radius of 100 light years and occupies an area of the sky the size of a full moon. The open cluster NGC 7380 was discovered by the German astronomer Caroline Herschel in 1787. The estimated age of the cluster is 4 million years. The radiation and stellar winds of the cluster’s young stars are responsible for creating the nebula’s shape. The ultraviolet light from the luminous type O and B stars formed within the molecular cloud ionizes the nebula’s hydrogen, which in turn re-emits light in the red part of the spectrum. While the nebula will dissipate within a few million years, some of the stars formed within it will likely outlive our Sun. Despite being fairly large, the Wizard Nebula is a challenging object to observe. A narrow band filter with O3 and H2 spectrum and dark Julian skies, helped enormously.
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