NGC 7538, near the more famous Bubble Nebula, is located in the constellation Cepheus. It is located about 9,100 light-years from Earth. It is home to the biggest yet discovered protostar which is about 300 times the size of the Solar System.[4] It is located in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way and is probably part of the Cassiopeia OB2 complex.[3] It is a region of active star formation including several luminous near-IR and far-IR sources.[3] Stars in NGC 7538 are mainly low-mass pre-main-sequence stars.[5]

NGC 7538
Diffuse nebula
NGC 7538
Herschel 250 μm = Red, Herschel 160 μm = Green, Herschel 70 μm = Blue [1]
Observation data: J2000.0 epoch
Subtypeemission or reflection
Right ascension23h 13m 45.7s[2]
Declination 61° 28′ 21″[2]
Distance9,100[3] ly   (2,800 pc)
Apparent dimensions (V)9′.00 × 6′.0
ConstellationCepheus
Notable featuresContains largest known protostar
DesignationsDreyer's Object, Sharpless 158
See also: Lists of nebulae

References

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  1. ^ Fallscheer; Reid; Di Francesco; Martin; Hill; et al. (2013). "Herschel Reveals Massive Cold Clumps in NGC 7538". Astrophysical Journal. 773 (2): 102. arXiv:1307.0022. Bibcode:2013ApJ...773..102F. doi:10.1088/0004-637x/773/2/102. S2CID 15779033.
  2. ^ a b "NGC 7538". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
  3. ^ a b c Balog, Z.; Kenyon, S. J.; Lada, E. A.; Barsony, M.; et al. (2004). "A Near-Infrared (JHK) Survey of the Vicinity of the H II Region NGC 7538: Evidence for a Young Embedded Cluster". The Astronomical Journal. 128 (6): 2942–2953. arXiv:astro-ph/0409115. Bibcode:2004AJ....128.2942B. doi:10.1086/425548. S2CID 9772547.
  4. ^ Sandell, Göran; Wright, Melvyn (2010). "A Detailed Study of the Accretion Disk Surrounding the High-Mass Protostar NGC 7538 S". The Astrophysical Journal. 715 (2): 919–938. arXiv:1004.0643v1. Bibcode:2010ApJ...715..919S. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/715/2/919. S2CID 119284322.
  5. ^ Symposium, International Astronomical Union; Union, International Astronomical (2007-05-28). Triggered Star Formation in a Turbulent Interstellar Medium (IAU S237). Cambridge University Press. p. 458. ISBN 978-0-521-86346-9.
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Map showing location of NGC 7538 (Roberto Mura)