Ghost of Cassiopeia Nebula Postcard

Wispy dust clouds and brilliant red and blue stars against a black eternal space denote the ghost nebula in the constellation of Cassiopeia the Queen. Identified as IC63, the ghost nebula is approximately 550 light years distant. It was imaged in all its beauty by the Hubble Space Telescope orbiting above Earth. Cassiopeia can be seen as a constellation resembling the letter W in the dark sky of autumn and winter. The ghost nebula lies in the center of the W formation surrounding the bright star Gamma Cassiopeia, but the nebula itself requires a powerful telescope to be observed. This nebula is slowly dissipating from the ultraviolet radiation of Gamma Cassiopeia.