October 22, 2003
Your birthday marks the moment a small planet circling a modest star gained another witness to its wonders.
The Heart and Soul Nebulas
Birthday · October 22, 2003
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APOD published October 22, 2003. Credit: Richard Powell, Digitized Sky Survey, Palomar Observatory, STScI. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
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 above 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.
Image credit: Richard Powell, Digitized Sky Survey, Palomar Observatory, STScI