SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
Jim Case
Location of Photo:
Southern California
Date/Time of photo:
October 2022
Equipment:
The image was constructed from 82 x 300 second exposures from my 8” Meade LX200 ACF telescope with a focal reducer, an ASI294MC PRO camera, the ASAIR Plus, an ASI OAG with an ASI174 mm mini camera, and a CEM40 mount, using an Antila ALP-T dual narrowband filter. Processed in APP and PS.
Description:
This is the Heart of the Heart Nebula, IC 1805, an open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia, approximately 7500 light years from us. The stars in this cluster ionize the hydrogen in a wide field image of the Heart Nebula, creating a massive super bubble that is estimated to be as much as 14 million years old. The open cluster is estimated to be 1 to 3 million years old, so it is likely that several generations of stars contributed to the Heart Nebula as we now see it. It is a textbook example of the last stage in the life of a giant molecular cloud complex. Read more about this region in volume 4 of Annals of the DEEP SKY available from Sky and Telescope.
