IC1805

IC1805 - The "Heart" Nebula

Object Description:
This large complex of faint nebulosity is located in the constellation of Cassiopeia.  It has often been referred to as the "Heart" nebula.  

IC 1805 is a young star cluster surrounded by Ha emitting nebulosity.  The hydrogen has been ionized by ultraviolet radiation from young hot stars.  This area lies some 7500 light years away from Earth, and this view of the area spans about 2 degrees.

The largest and very diffuse part of this image, IC1805, contains large and bright star cluster Melotte 15 at its center.  Other star clusters including; NGC1027, Berkeley 65, and Markarian 6 are located around its edges.  The brightest part of IC1805 consists of the nebulae IC1795 and NGC896.

Just to the east of this nebula lies IC1848, the "Embryo" or "Soul" nebula, visible in another image on this web site.

This image is a tricolor narrowband image, taken with Ha, OIII, and SII filters.

Dates Taken:
- 10/30/06 through 12/2/06

Equipment Used:
- TAK FSQ
- SBIG STL-6303
- Paramount ME
- FLI PDF
- Astrodon 50mm Ha, OIII, and SII filters, with 6nm bandpass

Exposures:
- Ha: 12.5 hours of 30 minute subs
- OIII: 9 hours of 30 minute subs
- SII: 10.5 hours of 30 minute subs
   ...totalling 32 hours

Processing:
CCDStack:
- Calibration
- Image registration
- Initial channel combines
- Hot/cold pixel reduction
- Gentle deconvolution
- DDP

Photoshop CS2:
- Color combine
- Gradient removal
- Color adjustments
- Noise control
- Shadow/highlight adjustments
- Contrast enhancement (Noel Carboni's Photoshop Actions)
- Contrast curves
- Sharpening

Further information available at http://www.flemingastrophotography.com/ic1805.html