NGC7380 Wizard Nebula; Captured at HCH, Colorado Springs, Colorado with RaBZFFLeX on 17December2022
Target Fun Facts
NGC 7380 is a young open cluster of stars in the northern circumpolar constellation of Cepheus, discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1787. The surrounding emission nebulosity is known as the Wizard Nebula, which spans an angle of 25′. The NGC 7380 complex is located at a distance of approximately 8.5 kilolight-years from the Sun, in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way.
The cluster spans ~20 light-years with an elongated shape and an extended tail. Age estimates range from 4 to 11.9 million years. At the center of the cluster lies 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.
Other Designations: NGC 7380, Sh2-142, Cr 452
Subtype: Open Star Cluster/Emission Nebula
Distance from Earth: 8500 ± 1300 light years
Size (radius): ~20 light years
Size (apparent dimensions): 25’x20′
Visual Magnitude: 7.2
Constellation: Cepheus
{ Information from: Stellarium and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_7380 }
Equipment
Polar alignment: QHYCCD camera (controlled by Polemaster)
Imaging stream: Orion 10″ f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph Telescope; Canon EOS Ra with with Teleskop Service Flattener 1.0x for RC Telescopes (TS-RCFLAT2) and Optilong L-eXtreme light pollution filter
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Equatorial Mount (controlled by EQMOD)
Autoguider: Orion 60mm Multi-Use Guide Scope, Orion StarShoot AutoGuider Pro Mono Astrophotography Camera (controlled by PHD2)
All equipment controlled by HP Probook running Sequence Generator Pro v3.2.0.660.
Capture & processing notes
Sequence plans: ISO3200; 70x300sec; captured 17Dec2022 1753MST – 18Dec2022, 0000MST. Total exposure time: 5:50hrs.
Capture: 17 December 2022
Shooting location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Processing: Stacked in APP, processed in LR/PS.