NGC 7380

NGC 7380 (also known as the Wizard Nebula) is an open cluster discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1787. William Herschel included his sister's discovery in his catalog, and labelled it H VIII.77. It is also known as 142 in the 1959 Sharpless catalog (Sh2-142). This reasonably large nebula is located in Cepheus. It is extremely difficult to observe visually, usually requiring very dark skies and an O-III filter.

NGC 7380
NGC 7380 in classic Hubble Palette (Ha/OIII/SII) by amateur astronomer Chuck Ayoub
Observation data (J2000.0 epoch)
ConstellationCepheus
Right ascension22h 47.0m
Declination58° 06′
Distance7.2 kly
Apparent magnitude (V)7.2
Apparent dimensions (V)25′
Physical characteristics
Radius100ly
Other designationsNGC 7380, Sh2-142, Cr 452

Located 7200 light years away, the Wizard nebula, surrounds developing open star cluster NGC 7380. Visually, the interplay of stars, gas, and dust has created a shape that appears to some like a fictional medieval sorcerer. The active star forming region spans about 100 light years, making it appear larger than the angular extent of the Moon. The Wizard Nebula can be located with a small telescope toward the constellation of the King of Aethiopia (Cepheus). Although the nebula may last only a few million years, some of the stars being formed may outlive our Sun.

  • NGC 7380 in Hubble Palette (Ha/OIII/SII)
  • NGC 7380 from WISE.
  • NGC 7380 from the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter using the 0.8m Schulman Telescope.Broadband (RGB) image.
  • NGC7380 Nebula from South Common Observatory


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