Sh 2-142 (also known as the Wizard Nebula) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cepheus with an apparent diameter of about 50′. The nebula is ionized by the young star cluster NGC 7380, in particular by DH Cephei, a binary system consisting in two O-type (O6 + O6) stars. DH Cephei lies at a distance of about 9600 light-years from Earth in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way.
Sh 2-142 contains 4000 solar masses of gas and is associated with a molecular cloud containing an additional 6-15 thousand solar masses of gas.
The cluster NGC 7380 spans ~20 light-years with an elongated shape and an extended tail. Age estimates range from 4 to 11.9 million years. At the center of the cluster lies DH Cephei, a close, double-lined spectroscopic binary system consisting of two massive O-type stars. This pair are the primary ionizing source for the surrounding H II region, and are driving out the surrounding gas and dust while triggering star formation in the neighboring region. Of the variable stars that have been identified in the cluster, 14 have been identified as pre-main sequence stars while 17 are main sequence stars that are primarily B-type variables.
