The PacMan Nebula

🌌 Overview: What Is the PacMan Nebula?

• NGC 281, nicknamed the PacMan Nebula for its resemblance to the arcade character, is an emission nebula located about 9,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia.

• It spans roughly 48 light-years in radius, nestled in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way.

• The nebula is part of an H II region, meaning it’s a hotbed of star formation, with ionized hydrogen gas glowing due to intense radiation from young stars. 1

🔬 Scientific Features to Highlight

• Star Cluster IC 1590 sits at the heart of the nebula, containing 20–30 young stars that energize the surrounding gas.

• The massive star HD 5005, a blue-white supergiant, plays a key role in sculpting the nebula’s structure through stellar winds and radiation.

• Bok globules—dense pockets of dust—dot the region, acting as stellar nurseries where new stars are born.

• The nebula’s composition is primarily hydrogen (70–80%) and helium (20–30%), with trace elements like carbon and silicates forming the dust lanes. 1

1. https://www.telescopenerd.com/celestial-objects/pacman-nebula.htm

🕰️ Historical & Cultural Context

• Discovered in 1883 by Edward Emerson Barnard, NGC 281 was described as “a large faint nebula, very diffuse”.

• Its nickname comes from the dust lane that resembles Pac-Man’s open mouth, making it a favorite among astrophotographers and outreach educators.

🧠 Quirky & Unique Facts About the PacMan Nebula

• It floats high above the galactic plane
  NGC 281 sits about 1,000 light-years above the Milky Way’s disk, making it part of an “expanding complex of molecular clouds” in the Perseus Arm. That’s unusually elevated for a star-forming region.

• It’s home to a quintuple star system
  The multiple star system B 1, discovered in the 19th century, includes five stars orbiting each other. The brightest member, HD 5005, is an O6-class supergiant with a surface temperature of 45,000 K—hot enough to ionize the surrounding nebula.

• It’s actively forming stars inside Bok globules
  These small, dark clouds of gas and dust—called Bok globules—act as stellar incubators, shielding young protostars from external radiation until they’re ready to ignite. 1