Heart Nebula
Heart Nebula
The Heart Nebula, IC 1805, Sharpless 2-190, lies some 7500 light years away from Earth and is located in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William Herschel on 3 November 1787.[1] It is an emission nebula showing glowing ionized hydrogen gas and darker dust lanes.[2]
The brightest part of the nebula (a knot at its western edge) is separately classified as NGC 896, because it was the first part of the nebula to be discovered. The nebula's intense red output and its morphology are driven by the radiation emanating from a small group of stars near the nebula's center. This open cluster of stars, known as Collinder 26 or Melotte 15, contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, and many more dim stars that are only a fraction of our Sun's mass.[1]
The brightest part of the nebula (a knot at its western edge) is separately classified as NGC 896, because it was the first part of the nebula to be discovered. The nebula's intense red output and its morphology are driven by the radiation emanating from a small group of stars near the nebula's center. This open cluster of stars, known as Collinder 26 or Melotte 15, contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, and many more dim stars that are only a fraction of our Sun's mass.[1]
SPECIFICATIONS
Telescope
SPA-1, 10CM F3.6 REFRACTOR
Camera
FLI PL16083
Location
Oria, Almería, Spain
Date of observation
2020
Filters
Filters(50mm square): Astrodon LRGB 2GEN, Ha (3nm), SII (3nm), OIII (3nm)
Processing
Pixinsight, PS, LR
The world’s largest database of astrophotography data is waiting for you! Start now your free trial
Try it free
