Close-up: Nebula NGC 7380 in Cepheus | Kitt Peak National Observatory

Close-up: Nebula NGC 7380 in Cepheus | Kitt Peak National Observatory

NGC 7380 is a typical star-forming region in the direction of an outer spiral arm of our galaxy (around 7,000 light years distant). It is a young open cluster of stars in the northern circumpolar constellation of Cepheus, discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1787. This field contains many young energetic stars that make the natal gas surrounding them glow an intense pink/red. The majority of stars in this newly formed group are out of the field to the upper left. Their winds and radiation sculpt clouds of gas and dust into the mountainous ridges seen here. The darkest parts of this image are foreground clouds of dust thick enough to extinct the light beyond them. Also note the bright star (left of center) that is in a bluish bubble of gas. This may be a Wolf-Rayet star beginning to blow a bubble. Other famous examples of this action include The Bubble Nebula and Thor's Helmut.

This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.

Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Kris Sandburg and Peter Jacobs/Adam Block
Release Date: June 11, 2014

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