The Wizard Nebula, NGC 7380
About the Subject:
The Wizard Nebula is a region of gas and dust surrounding the young open cluster NGC 7380 in the constellation Cepheus. It is an active star forming region roughly 100 light years across. In our night sky, it covers an area a little larger than the full moon. Age estimates for the nebula range from four to twelve million years. At the core of the nebula lies DH Cephei, a spectroscopic binary system of two “O” type very hot, very bright stars. It is ultraviolet light from this double star that is thought to be ionizing the gas cloud from which the cluster formed, causing it to fluoresce.
Date, Location, and Equipment:
September 12-23, 2024, Rowe, NM, USA
Astro-Physics 305mm Riccardi-Honders Cassegrain @ f/3.8
Astro-Physics 1100GTO AE Mount with Absolute Encoders
QHY600PH Monochrome Camera at -10°C
Chroma 50mm x 50mm filters
3nm H-Alpha
3nm OIII
RGB
16h25m H-alpha, 16h25m OIII, 1h RGB
Software:
Astro-Physics APCC for mount control and advanced pointing model
NINA for autofocus, sequence of images, and camera control
PHD2 for guiding
PixInsight for calibration and all post processing
This is a bi-color image using narrowband filters capturing H-alpha and OIII wavelengths of light. The colors were mapped using a Foraxx palette which produces more reds and bronzes than the traditional Hubble palette for narrowband images. The narrowband starless image was merged with a separate set of exposures for RGB stars in order to create a more natural appearing final result.