The Wizard Nebula
NGC 7380 has the colloquial name “The Wizard Nebula” because many see the jagged profile of a wizard, and his hat, in the sharp ridges of gas and dust. For me, the colour and shape reminds me of a red leaf from a maple tree in autumn, curled on the edges.
The Wizard Nebula is situated on an adjacent arm of our Milky Way galaxy, at a distance of only 8,500 light years from earth. Note: It is about 40 light years in size, whereas, our solar system in only 1 light-DAY in radius. So, do the math: 40 x 365 = 14 600. Its size is more than 14 000 times greater than the size of our solar system.
It is far too faint to be viewed unaided. Even with an amateur telescope, you are unlikely to see any details with just your eyes. Amateur astrophotographers love it, because it demonstrates the beauty of distant objects that can only be seen via long patient imaging, and skilled post-processing.
I photographed the Wizard Nebula from my garden in Strasbourg France on two nights in October 2025. This is an ensemble of 125 photos, where each was a 3 minute exposure (6 hours of photography).
Equipment used to capture images:
Telescope: Skywatcher Quattro 150/600
Computer: ASIAIR
Mount: AM5
Filter: Optolong L-Pro
Camera: ASI183MC-PRO
Processing Software:
Pixinsight
Blur Exterminator
Noise Exterminator
Star Exterminator
Seti Astro Tools
