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Gamma Cassiopeiae Nebula Ha, Mau_Bard
Gamma Cassiopeiae Nebula Ha, Mau_Bard

Gamma Cassiopeiae Nebula Ha

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Gamma Cassiopeiae Nebula Ha, Mau_Bard
Gamma Cassiopeiae Nebula Ha, Mau_Bard

Gamma Cassiopeiae Nebula Ha

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Description

This is the starless Ha channel of the HaRGB image already published here. I find that the Ha alone shows better the variety of the nebulae present in this wide field. In particular the extended nebulosity around IC59 and 63 does not appear frequently.

For convenience I append here the description completing the original HaRGB image.


*

I had in plan to portray the whole Gamma Cassiopeiae Nebula since long. IC63 and 59 are part of a larger formation, that this short focal gets it in all its beauty.
This is a view of the sky in direction opposite of the Milky Way center, including some celebrities, like the Phantom of the Opera, the Paint Stroke PN, or the Sailboat Cluster NGC225, but also interesting details as the most luminous known star Phi Cassiopeia, or the remote and somehow mysterious Sh2-180.

Details are described below following approximately a counterclockwise path in the picture.

Info has been excerpted from galaxymap.org, Wikipedia, Simbad

Sh2-187 Star Nursery
I already pictured this beauty here with a 1000mm focal, where much more detail is visible of this star formation area. In the picture here, the dark nebula hosting it, identified by several LDN numbers from 1312 up to 1323, is visible in its entirety at a distance of 4500 ly.

M103 Open Cluster
It is located between 8500 ly away and ranging over about 15 light years. It holds about 40 certain-member stars. A bright known foreground object is the star Struve 131, not a member of the cluster. M103 is about 22 million years old.

Sh2-188 "Paint Stroke" Planetary Nebula
I pictured this delicate PN here. It lies at 700 ly from earth, and is 7500 years old.

NGC433, NGC436 Open clusters
Their respective distances are 6500 ly, 9700 ly.

NGC457 "Owl (or "E.T.) Cluster" and the probably brightest known star Phi Cas
This beautiful open cluster lies over 7900 ly away from the Sun. It has an estimated age of 21 million years. It is not yet clear if Phi Cassiopeiae is a member of the cluster, and if it is, then it would be one of the brightest stars known, surpassing Rigel in luminosity. For comparison, the Sun at the same distance as Phi Cassiopeiae would shine at just 17.3 magnitude. The next brightest star is the red supergiant variable star V466 Cassiopeiae. The cluster features a rich field of about 150 stars of magnitude 9-13. About 60 stars have been identified as true members of the cluster.

Sh2-185 Cassiopeiae Nebula
IC63 and IC59 are part of Sh 2-185, and are situated at 600 ly from us. Both are illuminated by the fast rotating gigantic B0 IV star Gamma Cas. It is a combination of a reflection nebula and HII region, with spectroscopic mid-infrared detections of molecular hydrogen and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Sh 2-185 lies in front of the Perseus arm Cas OB1 association. Here it is, in one of my first rudimental astropictures.

Sh2-176 Planetary Nebula
It is a close PN, laying at 460 ly distance.

Sh2-173 "Phantom of the Opera" and Sh2-177
Some authors combine Sh2-172 (out of the field), -173 and -177 into one star formation region. All three nebulae lie in the direction of the expanding shell of gas and dust surrounding the Cas OB5 association. Their estimated distance is 9000 ly.

VdB 4 and NGC 225 "Sailboat Cluster"
This is one of my preferred objects in the sky, that can be better appreciated in this closeup taken with a longer focal.
Located roughly 2,200 light-years from Earth, the young cluster is only 100-150 million years old. The reflection nebula VdB 4 is probably a remnant of the original cloud that generated the cluster.

Sh2-179 PN
Distance 700 ly.

Sh2-180 HII region or Supernova Remnant?
It is visible in the direction of the Perseus arm Cas OB7 association, but a distance estimate based on CO velocity places it much further away in the Norma/Outer arm, nearly 18000 ly away!
The filaments visible in this image, more characteristic of a close supernova remnant than a distant HII region, suggests that this region may deserve deeper investigation.
Here it is, in a closeup from a 1000 mm picture.

Sh2-186
Avedisova says that Sh2-186 is ionised by the B0 III giant Hiltner 102 and is part of the Cas OB7 association. It contains the infrared cluster [BDS2003] 51.

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