The nebula of the heart, IC 1805, is a nebula of temptular emission in the rich fields of the Milky Way of Cassiopeia the Queen. Credit: Jeffrey Sinees
Takeaway Keyway:
- The nebula of the heart (IC 1805) is a large region that forms star.
- It contains a young stars cluster (Melotte 15).
- The nebula is about 7,500 light years of distance and over 300 light years.
- The vision requires a dark sky and a larger telescope.
One of the most interesting areas to explore with a large wide field field exists in the rich Milky Way of Cassiopeia. You might think of Orion, Toro, Scorpius or Sagittarius. But Cassiopea is full of small and interesting deep objects, mostly groups and nebulosis, and also has some large nebulae. One of these is IC 1805, commonly called Nebula Card due to its distinctive form. The designation of the catalog refers to the open cluster which is incorporated into the nebulosity, which covers a very large area and is adjacent to the nearby brilliant nebula, The Soul Nebula, IC 1848. (More on the nebula of the soul later.) The open cluster here also transports the Melotte 15 and Collinder 26 designation.
The nebula of the heart is a large region of emission, slowly transforming mainly hydrogen and other gases into a new generation of stars, therefore the young cluster open inside. The nebula is also cataloged like Sharpless 2–190 and is sometimes called the dog nebula in execution. It is located at a distance of about 7,500 light years and has a reasonably low surface brightness. It is quite easy to photograph with a long exposure system, but more difficult to see visually. A wide field and a very dark sky are needed and a scope of 8 inches or a larger opening helps.
This is a large object: the heart nebula covers about 150 ‘, more than two degrees from one end to the other. The physical diameter of the nebula exceeds 300 light years. Imagine how it would be to explore such a region that forms stellar closely!
