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Explanation: What's that inside the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission nebula dubbed IC 1805 looks, in whole, like a human heart. It's shape perhaps fitting of the Valentine's Day, this heart glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent element: hydrogen. The red glow and the larger shape are all created by a small group of stars near the nebula's center. In the heart of the Heart Nebula are young stars from the open star cluster Melotte 15 that are eroding away several picturesque dust pillars with their energetic light and winds. The open cluster of stars contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, many dim stars only a fraction of the mass of our Sun, and an absent microquasar that was expelled millions of years ago. The Heart Nebula is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation of the mythological Queen of Aethiopia (Cassiopeia).
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Heart Nebula - emission nebula - open cluster
Publications with words: Heart Nebula - emission nebula - open cluster
See also:
- APOD: 2024 December 17 Á Near to the Heart Nebula
- The Elephant s Trunk in Cepheus
- APOD: 2024 October 29 Á NGC 602: Stars Versus Pillars from Webb
- Phantoms in Cassiopeia
- APOD: 2024 September 17 Á Melotte 15 in the Heart Nebula
- APOD: 2024 August 28 Á Tulip Nebula and Black Hole Cygnus X 1
- A Sagittarius Triplet