The Heart Nebula
The Heart Nebula (IC805) resembles a human heart with its glowing gas and dark dust. The red glow and the overall shape are all powered by a small area of stars near the emission nebula’s core. The nebula spans about one degree in the northern sky, twice the size of the moon.
Specifications:
Designation: IC805
Known As: The Heart Nebula
Apparent Size: 1°
Magnitude (lower is brighter): 6.5
Distance from Earth: 7,500 LY
A Valentine’s Day Treat
The image above was taken in a Bortle 7 sky using the ZWO Duo-Band Filter. This was my first attempt at a mosaic of four panes. Each pane only has one hour of data collected, so the target is not very bright. More time will be needed to pull out more details.
EQUIPMENT
Telescope: Apertura 60EDR
Mount: Skywatcher EQ6R-Pro
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Guiding: ZWO ASI120MM Mini
Brain: ZWO ASIair Pro
Filters: ZWO Duo-Band Filter
ACQUISITION
Integration Time: 1 hour
RGB: 24 x 300sec
BIN: 1×1
Gain: 110
Temperature: -10° C
Bortle Scale: 5
CALIBRATION
Darks: 10
Flats: 30
Dark Flats: 30
Offset/Bias: 30
The Cassiopeia Constellation
Cassiopeia (Seated Queen) is easily recognizable due to its distinctive ‘W’ shape, formed by five bright stars.
A dense portion of the Milky Way goes through Cassiopeia containing a number of open star clusters, galactic disc stars, and nebulae, including the Heart Nebula and the Soul Nebula.
Available Merchandise
Use the Order Form to request prints or merchandise. (I accept Venmo or CashApp.)
*General information regarding constellations, galaxies, nebulae, and planets have been sourced from: AstroBackyard, VisibleDark, Wikipedia, EarthSky, and NASA.