The Ghost of Cassiopeia and Wizard Nebula
Cross Quarter Day & Halloween


Added October 30, 2026 ...
Halloween Astro Skies & Cross Quarter Days


Cross Quarter Days
Movie: Ghost of Cassiopeia, the Wizard Nebula, and Cross Quarter Days

The Heart Nebula is located in the northern sky in the constellation of Cassiopeia.

The Ghost of Cassiopeia, also known as Sharpless 2-185 and IC 63. It is about 550 LY away. It is very near the bright, hot star gamma Cassiopeia, which is also about 550 LY away from us. Gamma Cassiopeia, named NAVI, is the middle star of the five that composes the asterism of the big "W" giving the mythological appearance of the Lady in the Chair.

The nebulosity is composed of both an emission nebula and a reflection nebula.
I took images of the Ghost from the SvBONY SV503 102mm Refractor with an 0.8x Reducer resulting in a focal length of 571mm. I use three different filters, The SV220 Duo narrowband, the Optolong L-eNhance and their L_Ultimate.


Different Channels from Narrowband One Shot Color Camera (SvBONY SC571cc)
Views of the Ghost of Cassiopeia Nebula through different light pollution filters

SvBony SV220 Duo Narrowband Filter
Optolong L-eNhance Narrowband Filter
Optolong L-Ultimate Narrowband Filter

The Different One-Shot-Color Camera filters
used for the Ghost of Cassiopeia images:

SvBony SV220 7nm Duo
The Optolong L-eNhance Filter
The Optolong L-Ultimate Filter

The Wizard Nebula is located in the northern sky in the constellation of Chepeus.

The Wizard Nebula ... is nebulosity surrounding the cluster of stars of NGC 7380. It is about 8,500 LY away. Like the Ghost nebula, it is in the Perseus arm of the Milky way, however, it is next to Cassiopeia in the constellation King Cepheus, the husband of the Queen. This nebula is very difficult to view optically. To see it, you need long time-lapse photography and dark skies or urban skies using appropriate light pollution filters.

In my case, since I am in a Bortle 4.5 region with moderate light pollution, I imaged this target using narrowband filters ... Sulfur 2, Hydrogen Alpha, and Oxygen 3. I processed them using the Hubble palette of SHO and also in the HOO palette.


Different Channels from Narrowband Monochrome Camera
Views of the Wizard Nebula through different narrowband filters

Antlia 4.5nm Sulfur 2
Antlia 4.5nm Hydrogen Alpha
Antlia 4.5nm Oxygen 3

HOO Palette
SHO Palette
Blen of HOO & SHO

Halloween and Cross Quarter Days

This being the season of Halloween, it is interesting to know the importance of October 31. Actually, Halloween is the Eve of All Saints day, which is November 1. "Hallows" means holy or sanctified. This is the day many set aside to remember those who passed, making this day "Hallow". It is the beginning of a month set aside for special prayers for the dead. Halloween came about from the contraction of Hallow and Eve or 'een.

In astronomy, this is known as a "Cross Quarter Day"; the midway between the first day of Autumn and the first day of the winter solstice. In the southern hemisphere, the first day of Spring and of Summer.

There are 4 Cross Quarter Days ... This one, known as Samhain, Feb 2 (Candlemas), May 1 (May Day), and August 1 (Lammas). These cross quarter days are the midway points of the "Quarter Days", those days near the solstices and equinoxes and those were the dates in each year on which servants were hired, school terms started, and rents were due.

Halloween originated from the Celtic festival of Samhain, marking the transition from summer to winter and the belief that the boundary between the living and the dead was thinned during this time

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Links to SvBONY products that I use or tested through my Amazon store. (Note: I do get a slight commission that aids in support of my YouTube channels and website at no cost to you)
Amazon Links:


SVBONY SV503 Refractor Telescope with Built-in Field Flattener, 70mm F6.78 Extra Low Dispersion Achromatic Refractor OTA, Telescope
My Video Review of the SV503 Telescope


SVBONY SV193 0.8X Focal Reducer Field Flattener, for SV503 102mm Telescope


VBONY SV165 Guide Scope, 30mm Focal Ratio F4 Mini Finder and Guide Scope


SC571 One Shot Color Camera IMX571 ASP-C Camera
My Video Review of the SC571 camera


SVBONY SV241 Pro Astronomy Telescope Power Adapter, Micro DC USB HUB Box, High-Speed Output and Type-C Interface, Compatibility with Various Power Sources, Integrated USB Hub for Outdoor Astrophotography


SVBONY SV220 Duo-Band Filter,2" Narrow-Band Filter H-Alpha & OIII Narrowband Astronomical Filter, Light Pollution Filters for Deep Sky Astrophotography Nebula Photography


SVBONY SV260 Telescope Filter, 2" Multi-bandpass Star Field Filter

Other Products That I Use and Trust:


SVBONY SV238 Off-Axis Guider (OAG) 8x14mm Large Prism, Telescope Accessory
My Review of the SV238
*************************************************************** From Agena Astro:

Optolong L-eNhance narrowbnad filter for One-Shot-Color camers


Optolong L-Ultimate narrowbnad filter for One-Shot-Color camers

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