NGC 281 ( PacMan nebula ) is located in the constellation of Cassiopeia, 10,000 light years away from Earth. NGC 281 has a diameter, roughly spanning to around 90 light years in length.
NGC 281 is made up of a open star cluster which contains a few thousand stars, the multiple star HD5005 and dense clouds of cosmic dust and gas called Bok Globules. It is the luminosity of the stars within the nebula that cause the gases to glow, which can be seen in the image above.
The nebula was discovered by E.E Barnard in August 1883.
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