Is the heart and soul of our Galaxy located in Cassiopeia? Possibly not, but
that is where two bright emission nebulas
nicknamed Heart and
Soul can be found. The Heart Nebula, officially
dubbed IC 1805 and visible in the above zoomable
view on the right, has a shape reminiscent of a classical heart symbol. Both
nebulas shine brightly in the red light of energized
hydrogen. Several young open clusters of stars populate the image and are
visible above in blue,
including the nebula centers. Light
takes about 6,000 years to reach us from these nebulas, which together span
roughly 300 light years. Studies of stars
and clusters like those found in the Heart and Soul Nebulas have focussed
on how massive stars form and how they affect their
environment.
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