What excites
the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission nebula on the upper left, catalogued as IC 1805, looks somewhat like a human heart. The nebula glows brightly in red light emitted by
its most prominent element, hydrogen, but this long-exposure image was also blended with
light emitted by sulfur (yellow) and oxygen (blue). In the center of the Heart
Nebula are young stars from
the open star cluster Melotte 15 that are eroding away several picturesque dust pillars with their atom-exciting energetic light and winds. The Heart Nebula is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation of Cassiopeia. This wide field image shows much more, though, including the Fishhead Nebula just below the Heart, a supernova remnant on the lower left, and three planetary nebulas on the image right. Taken over 57 nights, this image is so deep, though, that it clearly shows
fainter long and complex filaments.
Image & info via APOD
Image
Credit & Copyright: Jeff Horne & Drew Evans
Source: Near to
the Heart Nebula – Scents of Science
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