IC63 - GHOST IN CASSIOPEIA

 in the constellation of Cassiopeia lies IC 63, a stunning and slightly nebula about 500 light years away from our sun.
Also known as the ghost of Cassiopeia, IC 63 is being shaped by radiation from a nearby unpredictably variable star, Gamma Cassiopeiae, which is slowly eroding away the ghostly cloud of dust and gas. 

The star Gamma Cassiopeiae is an eruptive variable star, whose apparent magnitude changes irregularly between +1.6 and +3.0. It is the prototype of the class of Gamma Cassiopeiae variable stars. In the late 1930s it underwent what is described as a shell episode and the brightness increased to above magnitude +2.0, then dropped rapidly to +3.4. It has since been gradually brightening back to around +2.2. At maximum intensity, γ Cassiopeiae outshines both α Cassiopeiae (magnitude +2.25) and β Cassiopeiae (magnitude +2.3).

THE NEBULA

 

THE STAR

 

 Technical Data

Bortle Scale / SQM-L	Bortle  5  / 20.04 - 20.26
Period	August 2022
Primary Scope	CCA-260 -- FSQ 106
Camera	QHY600 -- MORAVIAN C3-26000
Mount	AP 1100 GTO CP4
Total Exposure Time	8 h
Composition	HRGB
Location	Val Imagna (Bergamo) Italy

  

 © Efrem Frigeni Astrophoto