When it comes to observing, one tends to use the word ghostly freely to describe any manner of objects that appear ethereal and hazily indistinct. But the word phantom is in a league all of its own. One just knows that a phantom will be a thing both mysterious and vaporous, something so insubstantial that it is a rare treat to catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of one’s eye. And thus it was when I observed the superbubble N185’s nebulosity at 130x … nothing more than a phantom wisp first caught out of the corner of my eye; a wraith-like tendril so pale that it was almost translucent against the starry background. And in the way of so many incredibly faint nebulae, it had no edges, it simply dissolved into the sky. (Fortuitously, mag 10 HD 268793 lies just off its southeast rim and alerts you to the phantom superbubble’s location.)

Adding to its phantom allure is that in its images N185 resembles a vaporous mirror image of N70. It also has a spherical shape, a diameter ~300-365 light-years (N70’s diameter is 300 light years), a similar-looking faint and fragmented ring, and a tapestry of even fainter nebulous tendrils, strands, wisps, and smudges. But whereas one can see a fair amount of detail in the beautiful and delicate N70, all I could see of this superbubble was that exceedingly faint, small, and translucent streak of nebulosity that barely stands out against the background. However, mag 12.3 OB-type star, Sk -70 13, which lies almost dead centre is a lovely sight, albeit the beautiful white spark wipes out any sight of the cluster KMHK 237 that surrounds it. Disappointing to see so little of the superbubble? Not at all… it’s always good to know that you are looking at a phantom even though you can’t see it!

Two beautiful and delicate-looking superbubbles; N185 on the right, and N186 on the left. Credit: NOAO/CTIO/MCELS