NGC 7538 Diffuse Nebula (aka. Sharpless 158)
Distance: Aprox: 9,100 light-years
Constellation: Cepheus
Often overshadowed by the more famous Bubble Nebula which lies nearby, NGC 7538 is an exciting emission and reflection nebula located in Cepheus. While it is often overlooked by amateur astronomers, professionals looking to study stellar formation find it an exciting target as it is the host to ongoing star formation, including the largest known protostar which is about 500 times the mass of our sun. It is located in the Perseus Spiral Arm of the Milky Way and is probably part of the Cassiopeia OB2 complex. It is a region of active star formation including several luminous near-IR and far-IR sources. Stars in NGC 7538 are mainly low-mass pre-main-sequence stars.
Taken 1/5/19 in Grand Rapids, Ohio by Russell Kille on a CPC 1100 with Hyperstar @ F2 and ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera
Together with Bubble Nebula
Taken 10/13/17 in Grand Rapids Ohio by Russell Kille on a CPC 1100 with Hyperstar @ F2 and ZWO ASI224MC non-cooled camera
