NGC281 PacMan Nebula (Edward Overstreet)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Cassiopeia (Cas) · Contains: IC 1590 · NGC 281 · Sh2-184

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NGC281 PacMan Nebula

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NGC281 PacMan Nebula

NGC 281 is an H II region in the constellation Cassiopeia, nicknamed the "Pacman Nebula" for its resemblance to the video game character. NGC 281 was discovered in August 1883 by E. E. Barnard, who described it as "a large faint nebula, very diffuse."

The "Pacman Nebula", NGC 281. Robert Fera.

The nebula is visible in amateur telescopes from dark sky locations. With an O-III filter, NGC 281 appears fairly bright, large, and irregular. Several dozen stars are concentrated at its center. The nebula is crescent-shaped, with dark lanes dividing it on the north side. The brightest nebulosity, on the NW side of the object, is about 15' across, with an obvious multiple star at its luminous center. Other patches of nebulosity are visible to the SE.

The multiple star, HD 5005, was discovered by S. W. Burnham. It consists of an 8th-magnitude primary, with four companions at distances between 1.4" and 15.7". There has been no appreciable change in this quintuple system since the first measurements were made in 1875.

The Pacman nebula lies about 10,000 light years distant, in the Perseus spiral arm of our galaxy. It is a busy workshop of star formation. Prominent features, besides its diffusely glowing hydrogen gas, include dark lanes of obscuring dust and dense knots of gas and dust - Bok Globules - in which stars may currently be forming. NGC 281 also includes the open cluster IC 1590, of which the multiple star HD 5005 is the brightest member. Its light helps ionize the nebula's gas, causing the red glow visible throughout.

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The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

Submitted The date and time when you submitted this image for IOTD/TP consideration.	...
Views by Submitters (available since September 19th, 2023) Every image is assigned to 50% of available Submitters. In the event that at least 80% of them don't view the image before its time in the IOTD/TP process expires, it's assigned to the other 50% of Submitters and the process begins anew.
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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	3856106
PixInsight job	HVV6E4P7YQTWYRKTZEM8FEOKDQGHQKA1
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	n/a

RA (center)	00h52m56s.318
RA (top/left)	00h52m13s.936
RA (top/right)	00h55m35s.711
RA (bottom/right)	00h53m39s.466
RA (bottom/left)	00h50m16s.858

Dec (center)	+56°37′49″.83
Dec (top/left)	+56°16′41″.74
Dec (top/right)	+56°37′18″.72
Dec (bottom/right)	+56°58′56″.63
Dec (bottom/left)	+56°38′08″.29

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NGC281 PacMan Nebula

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