Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2019 September 11

                          IC 1805: The Heart Nebula
                    Image Credit & Copyright: Bray Falls

   Explanation: What energizes the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission
   nebula dubbed IC 1805 looks, in whole, like a human heart. The nebula
   glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent element:
   hydrogen. The red glow and the larger shape are all powered by a small
   group of stars near the nebula's center. In the center 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 Cassiopeia. Coincidentally, a
   small meteor was captured in the foreground during imaging and is
   visible above the dust pillars. At the top right is the companion
   Fishhead Nebula.

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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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