The California Nebula (NGC 1499) is an emission nebula about 1,000 light-years away in Perseus. It is named for an outline that resembles the state of California, and it glows from the light of the nearby star Xi Persei.
The nebula spans about two and a half degrees of sky, roughly five full Moons, so it needs a wide field of view and a dark site to be captured. Its red glow is the light of hydrogen excited by Xi Persei. It was discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1884.
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The California Nebula (NGC 1499)
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