NGC 281, also known as the Pacman nebula due to its resemblance to the classic arcade character, is an emission nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia, about 9,200 light-years from Earth. This star-forming region is part of the Perseus Spiral Arm of the Milky Way and spans roughly 80 light-years across. The nebula’s bright glow comes from ionized hydrogen gas, which is energized by the radiation of young, massive stars within the open cluster IC 1590. These stars are responsible for creating cavities and dark dust lanes that carve intricate shapes in the surrounding gas. NGC 281 is also home to several Bok globules—dense, dark clouds where protostars are forming. This nebula offers a rich laboratory for studying stellar formation, as the intense ultraviolet radiation and strong stellar winds from young stars sculpt and erode the nearby gas clouds, revealing the dynamic interactions that fuel star formation and nebula evolution. Written by ChatGPT.