Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cassiopeia (Cas)  ·  Contains:  IC 1590  ·  LBN 615  ·  LBN 616  ·  NGC 281  ·  Sh2-184
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NGC 281 Pacman Nebula, Jason Coon
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NGC 281 Pacman Nebula

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NGC 281 Pacman Nebula, Jason Coon
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 281 Pacman Nebula

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Description

NGC 281 is a bright emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia within our Milky Way Galaxy.  The distance from Earth was recently measured at about 9,200 light-years away.  At the center of the nebula is an open cluster of about 280 stars, which provide the glowing light seen here.  This cluster of starts is estimated to be about 3.5 million years old, making them very young compared to other stars (including our own which is estimated to be 4.6 billion years old).  The nickname Pacman nebula comes from a time when amateur telescopes were mostly used for visual observation, rather than digital astrophotography, so less detail was directly observable.  If you squint and turn your head sideways you can sort of see why it got that nickname.

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NGC 281 Pacman Nebula, Jason Coon