#melotte 15

[wigmund]

From Astronomy Picture of the Day; October 21, 2025:

IC 1805: The Heart Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Toni Fabiani What electrifies the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission nebula on the left, catalogued as IC 1805, looks somewhat like a human heart. The nebula glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent element, hydrogen, but this long-exposure image was also blended with light emitted by silicon (yellow) and oxygen (blue). 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 atom-exciting energetic light and winds. The Heart Nebula is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation of Cassiopeia. At the top right of the Heart Nebula is the companion Fishhead Nebula. This wide and deep image clearly shows, though, that glowing gas surrounds the Heart Nebula in all directions. Starship Asterisk* APOD Discussion Page for Today’s Image

The APOD website is down due to the government shutdown, however new images are still being posted to the website’s discussion forum and mirror sites.

[mizelaneus]

A different astronomy and space science related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.

[spacewonder19]

Open star cluster at the center of Cosmic Heart

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

[blasteffect]

“Heart” Nebula,

Located in the constellation of Cassiopeia in the Perseus arm of the Milky Way galaxy and some 7,500 light-years from Earth is IC 1805. 

The reason for this name should be obvious: its two swooping wings resemble the shape of a heart, and it glows red from within -- classifying it as an emission nebula -- from hydrogen ionised into plasma by nearby stars. 

The cluster of very young, hot stars -- just 1.5 million years old -- in the centre of the nebula is known as Melotte 15. The nebula itself spans some 200 light-years across.

The Matt Lukasik Photography

[thetimeandspaceblog]

IC 1805: The Heart Nebula

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.

Image Credit & Copyright: Bray Falls

Time And Space

[jmonterol]

MELOTTE 15

Se trata de un cúmulo abierto muy joven en la constelación de Casiopea, situado a 7500 AL de casa. Este objeto contiene estrellas de tipo espectral O, masivas y muy luminosas, que ionizan el hidrógeno de la nebulosa que le rodea, dando la tonalidad rojiza característica.

La nebulosa, IC 1805, se observa mal desde los cielos urbanos, y en la imagen más amplia de abajo se puede vislumbrar alrededor de Melotte 15. En cualquier caso, desde cielos oscuros, es todo un espectáculo.

Refractor TS Photoline 72 mm a f6. Cámara imx 294.

[spinningblueball]

Star Cluster Melotte 15 In The Heart Nebula [IC 1805]