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Cepheus OB4 and Cassiopeia OB5

Submitted by Kevin Jardine on 24 June, 2007 - 17:15

Hover your mouse over each blue dot for the name of the object, or click on the dot for a detail page. This map was created using the all-sky hydrogen-alpha map produced by Douglas Finkbeiner from data collected by the WHAM, VTSS and SHASSA hydrogen-alpha surveys.

The bright nebula above the galactic plane is Sh 2-171, and is associated with the Cepheus OB4 association at a distance of about 840 parsecs. Just a bit further away is Sh 2-187 which appears to be associated with the Cassiopeia OB14 association (and is, confusingly, in the constellation Cassiopeia but at the same distance as the Cepheus region of the Milky Way). The bright region on the left (east) side of the image below the galactic plane is Sh 2-185 which some sources suggest is a reflection nebula, only 240 parsecs away. The size of the nebula in hydrogen-alpha suggests that there may be a much more substantial HII region in this direction however.

Many of the other nebulae on this image (such as Sh 2-173) are associated with a large expanding shell around the Cassiopeia OB5 association at a distance of about 2500 parsecs. Beyond the Cassiopeia region at 2900 parsecs and far below the galactic plane is the Pac-Man nebula (Sh 2-184), which is ionised by a trapezium system (HD 5005) a bit like the one that illuminates the Orion nebula.

There are also several intriguing objects in the same field but much further away in the outer galaxy. These include the large and heavily obscured HII region Sh 2-183 at 7000 parsecs; Sh 2-180, a mysterious filamentary nebula resembling a supernova remnant, at 6100 parsecs; and the recently discovered [TW2004b] Nebula, at 8200 parsecs.


Sh 2-124
Sh 2-125
Sh 2-126
Sh 2-127
Sh 2-108
Sh 2-119
BFS10
BFS18
BFS15
BFS14
BFS17
BFS16
Sh 2-184
Sh 2-162
Sh 2-142
Sh 2-146
Sh 2-143
Sh 2-144
Sh 2-140
Sh 2-141
Sh 2-145
Sh 2-147
Sh 2-155
Sh 2-168
Sh 2-179
Sh 2-171
Sh 2-170
Sh 2-173
Sh 2-172
Sh 2-175
Sh 2-177
Sh 2-176
Sh 2-185
Sh 2-186
Sh 2-187
Sh 2-188
Sh 2-121
Sh 2-120
Sh 2-88
Sh 2-123
Sh 2-122
Sh 2-129
Sh 2-128
Sh 2-106
Sh 2-105
Sh 2-102
Sh 2-107
Sh 2-98
BFS8
Sh 2-104
Sh 2-109
Sh 2-97
Sh 2-96
Sh 2-94
Sh 2-99
BFS2
Sh 2-92
Sh 2-91
Sh 2-134
Sh 2-135
Sh 2-131
Sh 2-137
Sh 2-132
Sh 2-101
Sh 2-156
Sh 2-100
Sh 2-87
Sh 2-110
Sh 2-111
Sh 2-160
Sh 2-165
Sh 2-164
Sh 2-167
Sh 2-166
Sh 2-169
BFS12
Sh 2-93
Sh 2-158
Sh 2-159
Sh 2-90
Sh 2-89
Sh 2-163
BFS7
Sh 2-150
Sh 2-157
Sh 2-151
BFS6
Sh 2-181
Sh 2-180
Sh 2-183
Sh 2-182
Sh 2-149
Sh 2-148
Sh 2-161A
Sh 2-154
Sh 2-152
Sh 2-153
Sh 2-103
Sh 2-95
Sh 2-116
Sh 2-139
Sh 2-138
Sh 2-117
Sh 2-118
Sh 2-114
Sh 2-115
Sh 2-112
Sh 2-113
DR7
W58A
Sh 2-161B
[TW2004b] Nebula