Wide field view of the area.  Directly above the Wizard Nebula is a Dark Nebula known as LDN1200, in the upper left corner is the Bubble Nebula and NGC 7538, a smaller nebula (IC1470) can be seen a quarter of the way from the Bubble to the Wizard.

NGC 7380 is an open cluster, in Cepheus, discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1787... William Herschel's sister. The cluster is embedded in a nebula which is about 110 light years in size.  The cluster is located within the Milky Way Galaxy and is approximately 7,000 light years distant from the solar system. The stars in it are less than five million years old, which makes NGC 7380 a young open cluster.

The nebulous cloud containing the cluster is known as SH2-142 in the Sharpless catalog. The object is moderately large found in a sea of stars. In its vicinity are numerous dark Nebula such as LN 1200 seen just above.  Other emission nebulae can be seen to the upper left in the wide field view.

imagination is needed to see a robed wizard, sitting in a chair, with his arms and hands out stretched. Others just see a comfy chair.

Imaging Data

Date: 8-31-2011

Location : Sudbury, Massachusetts

Optics : ZenithStar 66 Apo with .8X Reducer-Flattener

Filter(s) : Astronomik CLS-CCD

Mount : Piggy-backed on LX-200 on Mitty Wedge

Autoguiding : Meade DSI through Stellarvue 60mm Finderscope and PHD Guiding Software

Camera : Canon EOS 1000D Astro-modified

Exposure info : 40 x 360 sec Exposures at ISO1600

Total Exposure : 4 Hours

Processing:  Pixinsight and Photoshop