• Key Information

  • Pacman Nebula

  • Type
    Emission Nebula
  • Diameter
    48 light years
  • Distance
    About 9,500 light years
  • Date of Discovery
    August 1883 (Edward Emerson Barnard)
  • Other Names
    NGC 281, IC 11, Sh2-184, Sharpless 184, LBN 616, LBN 123.17-06.28
  • Learning Point
  • The Pacman Nebula is a faint nebula near the constellation Cassiopeia that looks a little like the Pacman character from a video game. It contains some interesting stars, and gets its color from the light of those stars within it.
  • Project
  • Draw the Pacman Nebula.
  • Location
  • Located in
    Cassiopeia
  • Fun Facts
  • Within the nebula is an open cluster of stars called IC 1590, as well as some smaller nebulae called Bok globules.
  • There is a quintuple star system with a main O6 type star, and it hasn't changed since it was discovered in 1875.
  • The nebula was discovered by the American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard in August 1883.
  • About 48 light years across, it contains young stars that are newly formed.