Starship Asterisk*

Heart and Soul and Double Cluster

Explanation: This rich starfield spans almost 10 degrees across the sky toward the northern constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus. On the left, heart-shaped cosmic cloud IC 1805 and IC 1848 are popularly known as the Heart and Soul nebulae. Easy to spot on the right are star clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884 also known as h and Chi Perseii, or just the Double Cluster. Heart and Soul, with their own embedded clusters of young stars a million or so years old, are each over 200 light-years across and 6 to 7 thousand light-years away. In fact, they are part of a large, active star forming complex sprawling along the Perseus spiral arm of our Milky Way Galaxy. The Double Cluster is located at about the same distance as the Heart and Soul nebulae. Separated by only a few hundred light-years, h and Chi Perseii are physically close together, and both clusters are estimated to be about 13 million years old. Their proximity and similar stellar ages suggest both clusters are likely a product of the same star-forming region.

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Today's APOD is a lovely picture, with superb colors!

It's interesting that The Double Cluster and the Heart and Soul nebulas are located at apprxomately the same distance, and are probably parts of the same (very extended) region of star formation.

Ann

And the Giraffe Head Nebula... above the heart... a bit to the right... the dark dust. Long neck, head, and short horns...

Er... um... well.... are the Heart and Soul making a new Cluster, if they are close and maybe connected?

Sort of like the Hawaiian Islands moving over the hot spot, and the hot spot making new islands...

:---[===] *

The lower nebula (the soul) looks like a cartoon animal, maybe a fox. It even has eyes made up of stars.

That's h and chi Persei, not Perseii as it twice appears in today's caption.

John (Latin geek)

The Double Cluster was one of the first deep sky objects I ever viewed, and it really got me hooked on astronomy. That would have been around 1965, and it is still a favorite, especially with big binoculars.

It took another 40 years to finally have the equipment to see the Heart and Soul nebulae. They are faint and large, so require considerable effort.

Ann wrote: It's interesting that The Double Cluster and the Heart and Soul nebulas are located at apprxomately the same distance, and are probably parts of the same (very extended) region of star formation.

Ann

Well this image by Fabian Neyer of the Double Cluster shows faint Ha nebulosity, maybe this is the remnant of its original birth cloud?

I'd love to see an artist's conception of the night sky in one cluster, looking towards the other. Awe us!

starsurfer wrote:

Ann wrote: It's interesting that The Double Cluster and the Heart and Soul nebulas are located at apprxomately the same distance, and are probably parts of the same (very extended) region of star formation.

Ann

Well this image by Fabian Neyer of the Double Cluster shows faint Ha nebulosity, maybe this is the remnant of its original birth cloud?

Indeed! It looks like the Ha nebulosity in the picture you linked to might be the remnant of the original birth cloud.

Ann