NGC 7129, also known as the Small Cluster Nebula or the Flower Bud Nebula, is a reflection nebula located approximately 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus. It is home to around 130 young stars, each less than 1 million years old. Our Sun is believed to have formed in a similar environment, and this young open cluster is responsible for illuminating the surrounding nebula. Three very young stars near the center of the image are emitting supersonic jets of gas into the cloud, which collide with and heat molecules of carbon monoxide. NGC 7129 is situated just half a degree from the nearby cluster NGC 7142, which lies about 6,200 light-years away.
Image Session Details
-Location: 50.23°N, 8.46°E
-Target: NGC 7129 + NGC 7142
-Integration: 230 × 120s = 7h 40m
-Camera: Nikon D3500 (APS-C DSLR) – ISO 400
-Telescope: Askar 103 APO + 0.8× reducer (546 mm)
-Mount: Bresser EXOS-2 + OnStep Belt
-Control: ZWO ASI AIR
-Guiding: SVBONY SV165 + ZWO ASI120MM Mini
-Sky Quality: Bortle 4, SQM ~20.8
-Moon Phase: Waning Crescent (~5%-10%)
-Filter: None
-Date: 18-20 September 2025
General Properties
-Type: Reflection nebula with an active star-forming region
-Coordinates: 21h42m59.0279s, +66d06m46.745s
-Apparent Magnitude: ~7.2
-Angular Size: 7′ × 7′
-Distance: 1.086 mas: 920 parsec (3.0 kly)
-Constellation: Cepheus
-Discovery: William Herschel, 1788
Scientific Databases
[ POSITION ]
-RA: 325.754500°
-Dec: +66.117700°
-Parallax: 1.086 mas
-Proper motion: pmRA=-1.76 mas/yr, pmDEC=-3.27 mas/yr
-Redshift: -4.3e-05
-Radial velocity: -12.922 km/s
[ PHOTOMETRY ]
-Catalog: V=11.50
-V: 11.50
-IRAS 12 µm: 0.52 Jy
-IRAS 25 µm: 12.40 Jy
-IRAS 60 µm: 8.38 Jy
-IRAS 100 µm: 1210.00 Jy
-1.4 GHz flux: 0.00 Jy
[ DISTANCE ]
-642.16 pc (2.09 kly, Gaia proxy (median bright-star parallax))
[ ALIASES ]
-NGC 7129 IR Cluster, LBN 105.30+09.90, LBN 497, NGC 7129
-NED
Observation Notes
-Photographic Magnitude: 11.5
