IC 63 The Ghost of Cassiopeia
About 550 light-years away in the constellation of Cassiopeia lies IC 63, a faint reflection nebula. Also known as the ghost of Cassiopeia, IC 63 is being shaped by radiation from a nearby variable star, Gamma Cassiopeiae, which is slowly eroding away the ghostly cloud of dust and gas.
Gamma Cassiopeiae is a blue-white subgiant variable star that is surrounded by a gaseous disc. This star is 19 times more massive and 65 000 times brighter than our Sun. It also rotates at the incredible speed of 1.6 million kilometres per hour — more than 200 times faster than our sun.
Imaged in LRGB at SRO, OTA CDK 14
Integration time: 25 hours
Image Processing: Mike Selby