The Heart Nebula (SH2-190) is an emission nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia. It displays glowing ionized hydrogen gas. The brightest part of the nebula (a knot at its western edge) is separately classified as NGC 896, because it was the first part of the nebula to be discovered. The nebula’s intense red output and its morphology are driven by the radiation emanating from a small group of hot stars near the nebula’s center. The Heart Nebula is also made up of ionized oxygen and sulfur gasses, which are responsible for the rich blue and orange colors seen in narrowband images. The nebula spans almost 2 degrees in the sky, covering an area four times that of the diameter of the full moon.
The Soul Nebula (also know as SH2-199) is also an emission nebula located in Cassiopeia. It is also made up of ionized hydrogen, ionized oxygen and sulfur gasses, responsible for the rich red, blue and orange colors seen in narrowband images.
Distance:
The Heart and Soul nebulae are between 6,500 and 7,500 light-years (38,200 to 44,100 trillion or 38.2 to 44.1 quadrillion miles) from Earth.
Imaging:
This image is a four-panel (4×1) mosaic with each panel consisting of 20 sub-images at 5 minutes each (over 6.5 hours of imaging), calibrating the stack using 60 dark frames, 60 bias frames, and 60 flat images. I processed in Astro Pixel Processor (APP), treating the Ha and Oiii bands separately, then stacked the combined panes in APP, and finished post-processing in Siril, adding final touches in PhotoShop. Most of this imaging was done in the dark skies of Florissant, CO, a Bortle 3 area, thus the relatively short total imaging time for each panel without the use of a filter for light pollution.
Equipment:
• Telescope: SVBony SV503 80ED 560mm, an f/7 Doublet Refractor telescope with a 0.8 Reducer/Flattener to reduce the focal length to 448mm and aperture to f/5.6
• Mount: SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro
• Camera: ZWO ASI2600 MC Pro
• Filter: None needed – Bortle 3 dark sky area
• Guiding: ZWO ASI120mm Mini Monochrome Guide Camera with the ZWO 30mm f/4 Guide Scope
• Automation: ZWO ASIAir Mini
