IC 63 Ghost Nebula in Infrared

Hubble Captures the Ghost of Cassiopeia in Near-Infrared Light

Powerful gushers of energy from seething stars can sculpt eerie-looking figures with long flowing veils of gas and dust. One striking example is "the Ghost of Cassiopeia," officially known as IC 63, located 550 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia the Queen.

The nebula's ethereal glow might remind people of apparitions such as those reported by paranormal investigators. In reality, when viewed in near-infrared wavelengths, streamers of dust are reflecting light from the nearby, blue-giant star Gamma Cassiopeiae (not seen here). In this near-infrared view background stars and galaxies can be seen through the semitransparent dust clouds. A blue color was assigned to shorter infrared wavelengths in one exposure. A red color was assigned to longer infrared wavelengths in a second exposure, and the images were then combined. Hubble photographed IC 63 in August 2016.

The constellation Cassiopeia is visible every clear night from mid-northern and higher latitudes. Its distinctive "W" asterism, which forms the queen's throne, is best seen high in the sky on autumn and winter evenings. Gamma Cassiopeiae, the middle star in the W, is visible to the unaided eye, but a large telescope is needed to see IC 63.

About the colours

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Cyan: F110W Orange: F160W

About the data

The HST observations include those from program 14186 H. Arab (University of Strasbourg)