The Pacman Nebula
January 11, 2018
Photographer: John Chumack
Summary Author: John Chumack
Shown above is NGC 281, also known as the Pacman Nebula, which looks to me like something ripped a hole in the fabric of space. Within it lies the open star cluster IC 1590. Unlike its popular arcade game namesake, The Pacman isn't gobbling up nearby stars; rather it's making new ones. It extends about 50 light-years across and lies some 9,500 light years away, in the constellation of Cassiopeia. Captured from my backyard observatory in Dayton, Ohio, on September 22, 2017.
Photo Details: Taken with my 6 inch Celestron Newtonian telescope and ZWO 174MM cooled Cmos Camera; reprocessed in a 5-hour narrow band (HA,OII,SII) shot.
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