The Heart Nebula is located 6,000 light-years away from us in the constellation Cassiopeia. Recently, amateur astronomer Ronald Brecher published an amazing photo of it.
Location of the Heart Nebula
Astrophotographer Ronald Brecher captured a colorful view of the Heart Nebula (IC 1805), located about 6,000 light-years from Earth in the Perseus spiral arm of the Milky Way.
The Heart Nebula is a colossal star-forming region named for its resemblance to a cartoon image of a human heart. At the center of the nebula is a group of energetic young stars, whose radiation actively forms dense pillars of dust. It is located just 5 degrees from the bright star Segin in the constellation Cassiopeia — about the width of three middle fingers of an outstretched hand — which can be seen high above the northern horizon around midnight in October.
Beneath the enormous cosmic heart hangs a cloud of dust and gas, unofficially named the “Fishhead Nebula” due to its blurred oval outline and dark dust filament, which gives it the appearance of an aquatic creature.
How was the astrophotograph obtained?
Brecher captured light from the distant nebula from his home in Guelph, Canada, using an astronomical camera mounted on a Sky-Watcher Esprit 70 EDX refracting telescope for more than 40 hours in September this year.
This colorful scene was captured using a set of astrophotography filters, each designed to capture specific wavelengths of light, which were then assigned individual colors during processing. The final result is a magnificent image of deep space, created from particles of light that traveled thousands of years to reach their destination.
According to www.space.com
