A dramatic star-forming region with ridges, cavities, and a strong central silhouette.
- What am I looking at?
- The Wizard Nebula is a star-forming region whose loops of gas suggest a wizard's profile.
- How far away is it?
- About 7,200 light-years away.
- Where is it in the sky?
- In Cepheus, near the northern Milky Way.
- Why does it matter?
- A rewarding narrowband object with intricate structure that benefits from long exposures.
- When is the best time to photograph it?
- Late summer through autumn when Cepheus is well placed.
Capture summary
Nebula in Cepheus
6 days in 2022 / Moon 41%
Ha, OIII, SII
Autumn target / wide composition
- H-alpha 4h 45m 57 x 300s / 19 Sep, 9 Oct 2022 / Moon 67%
- SII 6h 72 x 300s / 3 days in 2022 / Moon 53%
- OIII 10h 25m 125 x 300s / 4 days in Sep 2022 / Moon 18%
- Totals 21h 10m 6 days in 2022 / Moon 41%
Same target, different years.
Older revisions stay in the archive so you can see how the target changed with different equipment, processing, and experience.
When to image this target
Nebula in Cepheus; best planned for September through November from New Jersey.
Autumn is a strong window for Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and late Cygnus fields.
Assumes a New Jersey backyard horizon and evening imaging.
Emission nebulae are good candidates for narrowband filters; reflection nebulae prefer darker skies.
NGC 7380 is listed here in Cepheus.
Current frame: Narrowband / Ha, OIII, SII.
Live altitude, moon, and filter guidance
Calculating target altitude and moon context.
Use the full planner to enter a ZIP code, choose a date, and compare the target from your sky.
Based on the current time.
Green marks usable dark-sky altitude.
Next upper transit.
Approximate horizon crossing.
Moon phase and altitude.
Acquisition & processing notes
Filter channels, integration times, and capture dates for this frame. View on AstroBin.
- H-alpha 57 x 300s, 4h 45m, 19 Sep, 9 Oct 2022, Moon 67%
- SII 72 x 300s, 6h, 3 days in 2022, Moon 53%
- OIII 125 x 300s, 10h 25m, 4 days in Sep 2022, Moon 18%
- Totals 21h 10m, 6 days in 2022, Moon 41%
Field notes for this target.
Browse all capture notesHow I captured this
| Channel | Frames | Time | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|
| H-alpha | 57 x 300s | 4h 45m | 67% |
| SII | 72 x 300s | 6h | 53% |
| OIII | 125 x 300s | 10h 25m | 18% |
| Totals | — | 21h 10m | 41% |
- Equipment used
- From my current rig
- Mount
- iOptron CEM60
- Telescope
- Explore Scientific FCD100 127mm Carbon Fiber Triplet APO
- Camera
- ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Filters
- Chroma 36mm Ha, OIII, SII, and LRGB (ZWO EFW 7×36mm)
- Focuser / rotator
- MoonLite NiteCrawler
- Reducer
- Starizona Apex ED 0.65×
- Guiding
- ZWO off-axis guider + ASI290MM Mini
- Control / power
- PrimaLuceLab Eagle 4S, Powerwerx PSU, Bioenno field battery, and MEGAbox
