The Heart Nebula (also known as IC 1805), is a large, glowing emission nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia. It spans an area of about 200 light-years across and is estimated to be about 7,500 light-years away from Earth.

The nebula gets its name from its shape, which resembles a human heart. It is a region of active star formation, where young, hot stars are ionizing the surrounding gas and causing it to emit light in various colors, including deep red, pink, and blue.

The heart nebula is part of a larger star-forming complex known as the Cassiopeia OB2 association, which contains hundreds of massive stars. These stars are responsible for the ionization of the surrounding gas, creating the stunning visual display that we see.

The heart nebula is a popular target for astrophotographers and amateur astronomers due to its striking appearance and location in the northern sky. It’s distance and size make it difficult to observe with the naked eye.

Because this object is so large I had to stitch two pictures together, in astrophotography terms this is known as a ‘mosaic’. This image was constructed capturing 3 different wavelenghts of light: H-alpha (Hα), OIII (Doubly ionized oxygen) and SII (ionized sulfur). I captured these 3 wavelenghts in black & white and combined them using the Foraxx palette.