Sh2-132 — Lion Nebula
HII Region in Cepheus
About
Two Wolf-Rayet stars, together with a crowd of hot O- and B-class stars, light up this emission nebula in Cepheus, about 10,000 light-years away. Several catalogued dark nebulae are threaded through it.
Imaging tips
- About 50′ across, so 480–810 mm on APS-C or 740–1240 mm on full frame frames it.
- An emission nebula, so narrowband suits it. One imager gathered 21 h 10 m in 300 s subs through 3 nm Ha, OIII and SII filters, giving OIII the largest share at 8 h 45 m.
- Another imager got about 11 hours of Ha and OIII in 480 s subs from a Bortle 8 backyard, and a third used 13 hours of 5-minute dual-band subs plus 7 hours of broadband (20 hours in all).
- Best around August and September, peaking near 84° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 50′
- Magnitude
- —
- Coordinates
- RA 22h 19.1m, Dec +56° 5′
- Framing, APS-C
- 480–810 mm
- Framing, full frame
- 740–1240 mm
- Best months
- Aug, Sep
- Peak altitude
- 84° from 50°N, 69° from 35°N