The Wizard of the North (NGC7380) (AstroDarks)

The Wizard of the North (NGC7380)

NGC 7380, commonly known as the Wizard Nebula, is a spectacular emission nebula located in the constellation Cepheus. Discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1787, this celestial marvel is approximately 7,200 light-years away from Earth and spans about 110 light-years across.

The Structure and Composition

The Wizard Nebula is named for its resemblance to a robed figure, reminiscent of a wizard. This intricate structure is shaped by the intense radiation and stellar winds from young, hot stars within the open star cluster NGC 7380, which lies at the nebula's heart. These stars, primarily O-type and B-type, are responsible for ionizing the surrounding hydrogen gas, causing it to emit the characteristic red light seen in many emission nebulae.

Star Formation and Evolution

NGC 7380 is a region of active star formation. The intense radiation from the young stars not only shapes the nebula but also triggers the collapse of surrounding gas and dust clouds, leading to the birth of new stars. This ongoing process makes the Wizard Nebula a fascinating subject for studying the lifecycle of stars and the dynamics of nebulae.

Please note: The following tables are updated every 24 hours.

Distribution of astrophotographers

This table shows the number of distinct astrophotographers who have been assigned and IOTD/TP award compared to the total number of images awarded.
	Distinct awarded users	Total awarded images
Image of the day
Top picks
Top pick nominations

Distribution of subject types

This table shows the distribution of awards per subject type, compared to the popularity of images of that subject type.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Deep sky
Solar system
Extremely wide field
Star trails
Northern lights
Noctilucent clouds
Landscape
Artificial satellite

Distribution of data sources

This table shows the distribution of awards per data source, compared to the popularity of images acquired from that data source.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Backyard
Traveller
Own remote observatory
Amateur hosting facility
Public amaeteur data
Professional, scientific grade data
Mix of multiple sources
Other
Unknown

The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

Submitted The date and time when you submitted this image for IOTD/TP consideration.	...
Views by Submitters (available since September 19th, 2023) Every image is assigned to 50% of available Submitters. In the event that at least 80% of them don't view the image before its time in the IOTD/TP process expires, it's assigned to the other 50% of Submitters and the process begins anew.
Promotions by Submitters When 3 distinct Submitters promote the image, it moves on to the next stage of the process: evaluation for Top Pick status. This requirement, in addition to anonymization of images and distribution to only a subset of them, prevents biases and ensures that the best images are selected.
Promotions by Reviewers When 3 distinct Reviewers promote the image, it moves on to the next stage of the process: evaluation for IOTD status.
Early dismissal Staff members have a lot of images to inspect on a daily basis, and they can dismiss images if they believe they don't meet the requirements for IOTD/TP selection. If an image is dismissed 5 times, it's removed from the process. This streamlines the process and ensures that any bias present in promotions could be overruled by other staff members.

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