Heart Nebula

The Heart Nebula (also known as the Running dog nebula, IC 1805, Sharpless 2-190) is an emission nebula, 7500 light years away from Earth and located in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William Herschel on 3 November 1787.[1] It displays glowing ionized hydrogen gas and darker dust lanes.[2]

Heart Nebula
Emission nebula
H II region
Heart Nebula, with Fish Head Nebula on top right corner, narrowband image captured on a 70mm scope
Observation data: J2000.0 epoch
Right ascension02h 33m 22s
Declination+61° 26′ 36″
Distance7,500 ly
Apparent magnitude (V)18.3
Apparent dimensions (V)150' x 150'
ConstellationCassiopeia
Physical characteristics
Radius165 ly
Absolute magnitude (V)6.5
DesignationsNGC 896, IC1805, Sh2-190

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 the Sun, and many more dim stars that are only a fraction of the Sun's mass.[1]

The Heart Nebula is also made up of ionised oxygen and sulfur gasses, responsible for the rich blue and orange colours seen in narrowband images. The shape of the nebula is driven by stellar winds from the hot stars in its core. The nebula also spans almost 2 degrees in the sky, covering an area four times that of the diameter of the full moon.[3]

  • This image of the Heart Nebula is composed of 7 hours of RGB data collected in December 2021 by Keith Steffens at the Frog Island Observatory in Escanaba, Michigan.
    This image of the Heart Nebula is composed of 7 hours of RGB data collected in December 2021 by Keith Steffens at the Frog Island Observatory in Escanaba, Michigan.
  • Heart Nebula captured in Ha, Sii and Oiii Hubble Palette
    Heart Nebula captured in Ha, Sii and Oiii Hubble Palette
  • Heart Nebula captured on an ASI2600mc-pro with a Triad Narrowband Filter
    Heart Nebula captured on an ASI2600mc-pro with a Triad Narrowband Filter
  • Heart Nebula and Soul Nebula are part of a large chimney cloud complex
    Heart Nebula and Soul Nebula are part of a large chimney cloud complex
  • Melotte 15 is part of Heart Nebula. There are several bright stars here, some of them nearly 50 times mass of the Sun. Telescope: 14" SCT Imager: Raman Madhira from Ray's Astrophotography Observatory; Postprocessing with PixInsight. Imaged on 2022-09-21
    Melotte 15 is part of Heart Nebula. There are several bright stars here, some of them nearly 50 times mass of the Sun. Telescope: 14" SCT Imager: Raman Madhira from Ray's Astrophotography Observatory; Postprocessing with PixInsight. Imaged on 2022-09-21
  • Captured from Manchester September 2022 Bortle class 8 sky
    Captured from Manchester September 2022 Bortle class 8 sky

See also

References
  1. "New General Catalog Objects: NGC 850 - 899". cseligman.com. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  2. "astronomy-mall.com/Adventures.In.Deep.Space/NGC%201-7840%20complete.htm". astronomy-mall.
  3. "The Heart Nebula in Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sulfur | Science Mission Directorate". science.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
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