Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cassiopeia (Cas)  ·  Contains:  IC 1590  ·  NGC 281  ·  Sh2-184
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NGC 281 - The Pac-Man Nebula, Timothy Martin
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NGC 281 - The Pac-Man Nebula

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NGC 281 - The Pac-Man Nebula, Timothy Martin
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NGC 281 - The Pac-Man Nebula

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Description

NGC 281, aka the Pacman Nebula. Discovered by Edward Bernard in 1883, the exact distance to this object is unknown with estimates ranging from 6,500 light years to the most recent estimate of 9,500 light years based on observations from the Chandra X-ray Telescope in space. Its placement in the Cassiopeia constellation above the galactic plane near the Perseus Arm of the galaxy makes it ideal for studying the high-mass stars that pepper it. Normally, such stars are difficult to study because they are obscured by gas and dust in the molecular clouds that gave birth to them or by intervening dust lanes in the galactic plane.

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NGC 281 - The Pac-Man Nebula, Timothy Martin

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Emission Nebulas