The Lion Nebula (Sharpless 2-132) is a huge emission nebula in the constellation Cepheus the King. For this image, the author used the same filters the Hubble Space Telescope uses to capture its exposures.

Sh2 -132 is an extended emission nebula visible in the constellation of Cepheus .

It is located on the southern edge of the constellation, a short distance from the border with the Lizard , along the plane of the Milky Way; the most suitable period for its observation in the evening sky falls between the months of July and December and is greatly facilitated for observers placed in the regions of the Earth’s northern hemisphere .

Sh2-132 is located at a distance of almost 3200 parsecs (almost 10400 light years ), thus placing itself inside the Perseus Arm , in the Cepheus OB1 region, a large and bright OB association . The stars responsible for the ionization of its gases are very hot and massive; in particular two Wolf-Rayet stars have been identified, known with the letters HD 211564 and HD 211853 (the latter also having the initials WR 153), in addition to a star of spectral class O8.5V and a dozen of class stars B. Around the star of class O and one of the stars of Wolf-Rayet extends a clearly visible bubble in the band of radio waves.