Rory Glasgow Caldwell Objects, Galaxies, Nebulae, NGC Objects, Open Clusters

Ghosts!!!

We had some decent nights the past month or so, and I thought it would be fun to image some spooky sights for Halloween!

This post’s theme is Ghostly Apparitions. Mostly.

We start off with the Ghost Nebula (Sh 2-136), a reflection nebula located near the Iris Nebula in the constellation Cepheus. This nebula appears quite small and is between 1,200 and 1,400 light years away, so it’s only a little bit spooky!

The Ghost and Iris Nebulae. The Ghost is located on the left side of the image. (4.3 hours integration of 120s exposures @ 60 gain on the Dwarf 3, processed in Siril.)
A close-up of the Ghost Nebula. Woooo!!!

Located a little closer, at a mere 550 to 600 light years away, is the Ghost of Cassiopeia. It is a reflection nebula that is being illuminated by the bright star Navi.

IC 63 and IC 59, the Ghost of Cassiopeia. (4 hours integration of 120s exposures @ 60 gain on the Dwarf 3, processed in Siril.)
Ghost of Cassiopeia. IC 63 is on the right, and IC 59 is on the left. BOO!

But not all ghosts are mean, right? Well, at least one is nice. This is Messier 78, a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion that some amateur astronomers call Casper the Friendly Ghost. A little bit of Barnard’s Loop is visible to the upper-left.

Messier 78, Casper the Friendly Ghost. (5.4 hours integration of 120s exposures @ 60 gain on the Dwarf 3, processed in Siril.) Who remembers, “A ggggghost!”

I have one more ghost to show you. But this one is a little different. It’s official designation is NGC 6939. Its familiar name is the Ghost Bush Cluster, due to the fact that it is easier to see with averted vision–it tends to disappear from sight when viewed directly in small telescopes. The beautiful, face-on spiral galaxy NGC 6946, the Fireworks Galaxy, is located nearby in the sky (but MUCH further away). Ten supernovae have been observed in this galaxy over the past 100 or so years, hence its name.

There is a lot of faint, ghostly nebulosity in this area, too.

NGC 6946 (Fireworks Galaxy) and NGC 6939 (Ghost Bush Cluster). (4.2 hours integration of 120s exposures @ 60 gain on the Dwarf 3, processed in Siril.) Woooeeeooo!

And finally, an image from an earlier post, the Witch’s Broom Nebula, located in the constellation Cygnus:

Witch’s Broom Nebula, aka, the Western Veil Nebula. I’ll get you, my pretty…and your little dog, too!

Happy Halloween!

Click on the links below to view the full-size versions of these images: