Sharpless 142 is a starforming region in the direction of an outer spiral arm of our galaxy (at a distance of about 7,000 light years). The nebula contains many young energetic stars which make the gas that surrounds them emit light, mainly in the red Hα wavelength. The majority of stars form the open star cluster which is designated NGC 7380. The wind and radiation of the stars form the nebula. Also visible in this image are dark nebulae, which are foreground clouds of dust thick enough to extinct the light beyond them. Most conspicuous is LDN 1200 in the upper part of the image, above NGC 7380.
Cepheus/Cassiopeia Border Region, standard lens photograph.
NGC 7380 and Sharpless 142, an enlargement of this CCD-image.
Exposure Data
