The Wizard Nebula (Sh2-142) is an emission nebula in Cepheus, wrapped around the young open cluster NGC 7380. Hot stars in that cluster, above all the massive binary DH Cephei, flood the cloud with ultraviolet light and stellar winds, lighting ionized hydrogen and carving towers, ridges, and dark lanes. The result is the familiar silhouette of a robed figure in a pointed hat. Caroline Herschel discovered the cluster in 1787; the surrounding glow later entered the Sharpless catalogue as Sh2-142.
The complex sits in the Perseus Arm, about 8,500 light-years from the Sun. On the sky it covers roughly 25 arcminutes, near the width of the full Moon. The star-forming region spans about 100 light-years, while the embedded cluster itself stretches about 20 light-years.
Facts
- Constellation: Cepheus, in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way
- Distance: about 8,500 light-years (2.6 kiloparsecs)
- Size: nebula about 100 light-years across; cluster about 20 light-years
- Sky: about 25 arcminutes wide, apparent magnitude 7.2
- Catalogues: Sh2-142, NGC 7380, Collinder 452, LBN 511
- Age: a few million years; cluster found by Caroline Herschel in 1787
