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The heart nebula can be found in the constellation of Cassiopeia at a distance of around 7,500 light years from Earth. It is within the Perseus arm of our galaxy. It is a faint emission nebula with an apparent magnitude of 18.3 (That puts it at around 59,605 times fainter than what the human eye alone can see) At the centre of the heart nebula is a bright open star cluster, known as Merlotte 15, in amongst a twisted structure of gas and dust. This cluster contains many stars, with several being 50 x the mass of our own Sun. Also within the image in the upper right corner is the Fish Head Nebula, (IC1795) which is the brightest part of the overall Heart Nebula. The Fish Head Nebula is an intense region of star formation.
About the image:
In true colour, the Heart Nebula is an intense red colour due to the vast amount of ionised hydrogen gas. The image above has been shot in narrowband and processed as such. This was taken over 2 nights a few weeks apart, the first night having 90 x 180sec of useful sub exposures. The second imaging night having 73 x 300sec of useful sub exposures combining to a total integration time of approximately 10.6 hours.
Where in the sky is it?
The Heart nebula can be found high in the northern parts of UK skies, found in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It is located right beside the Soul Nebula.
