IC 1805 and IC 1848: The Heart and Soul Nebulae
RA:02 33 30, Dec:+61 30 00, mag: -.-, Size: 100'x100', Dist: 6500 l.y.

(Click here to see high resolution version ~1.9MB)
Object:	These two nebulae, the Heart nebula (right, IC 1805) and the Soul nebula (left, IC 1848), in the constellation of Cassiopeia, are about 6,000 l.y. away and span about 300 l.y. Both nebulae have star clusters embedded within them and their forms, which give them their names, have been blown and hollowed out by the combined solar winds of those hot young stars born there. The clusters belong to the Cas OB6 association which is one of the brightest parts of our galaxy's Cassiopeia arc, which in turn is the brightest section of the Perseus arm visible from Earth. (An OB association is a gravitationally unbound group of stars, including a number of early spectral type O- and B-stars. As much as 90 per cent of the stars in the Galaxy may have formed in OB associations.)
Exposure:	Ha: 26x600s
Equipment:	Pentax 75 SDHF f/6.6 refractor. Art11002 CCD. Astronomic 12nm Ha filter.
Location:	20th Oct. & 15th Nov. 2007 23:00 UT, Oxford UK.
Processing:	Images sigma-masked stackedin MaximDL. Curves & levels in PhotoshopCS.

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