The Wizard Nebula (NGC 7380) is considered a challenging photo target, because it is very dim. It’s impossible to see visually, and even photographically it typically requires hours of exposure time to bring out the details. I was lucky to have about 3.5 hours of cloudless skies to take this shot a couple of nights ago. The dual-narrowband (Ha + OIII) filter is tremendously helpful in cutting through light pollution.
NGC 7380 is actually an open cluster of very young stars in the constellation Cepheus that formed about 5 million years ago – practically a moment ago in cosmic terms. The nebula itself (S 142) is a cloud of ionized gas approximately 110 light-years long. It took 7000 years for its light to reach my yard in Victoria, BC.