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 colloquially 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 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. Of the variable stars that have been identified in the cluster, 14 have been identified as pre-main sequence stars while 17 are main sequence stars that are primarily B-type variables.
Object Designations: NGC 7380
Also known as: Wizard Nebula
Constellation: Cepheus
Object Type: Open Cluster
Distance: 8.5 kilolight-years away
Magnitude: 7.2
Discovery: Caroline Herschel in 1787
This final image is:
109 – 3 minute subs at 100 gain – no filter over 5 hours of integration
I processed the images using Pixinsight using:
Blink to clear out low quality images
Weighted Batch Balance
SpectroPhotometricCalibration
AutomaticBackgroundExtractor
BlurExterminator
NoiseExterminator
EZProcessing Suite Softstretch (img version 1)
GeneralizedHyperbolicStrectch (img version 2)
ColorCalibration on both versions
StarXTerminator
Curves on both versions using other version as mask
Pixmath to put stars back with both images.
