Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cassiopeia (Cas)  ·  Contains:  IC 63  ·  LBN 622  ·  LBN 623  ·  LBN 625  ·  Sh2-185  ·  gamma Cas nebula
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IC 63 - The Ghost of Cassiopeia, Paul Ricker
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IC 63 - The Ghost of Cassiopeia

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
IC 63 - The Ghost of Cassiopeia, Paul Ricker
Powered byPixInsight

IC 63 - The Ghost of Cassiopeia

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Description

One of a few Halloween-shaped objects in the sky, the Ghost of Cassiopeia (IC 63) is a combination emission/reflection nebula about 200 pc away. IC 63 is being ionized and shaped by the (relatively) nearby ~20Msun Be star γ Cassiopeiae, just outside the field of view here (the diffraction spike in the upper right is from γ Cas). As a Be star (the first known according to Jim Kaler), γ Cas is rapidly rotating, eruptive, and highly variable.

The blue reflection nebula is pretty faint; I'm going to try for some more RGB data when I get a chance (not likely before Halloween).

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IC 63 - The Ghost of Cassiopeia, Paul Ricker