APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
User avatar
APOD Robot
Otto Posterman
Posts: 5606
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:27 am

APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by APOD Robot » Tue Feb 14, 2023 5:05 am

Image The Heart and Soul Nebulas

Explanation: 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 in the featured image on the upper right, has a shape reminiscent of a classical heart symbol. The shape is perhaps fitting for Valentine's Day. The Soul Nebula is officially designated IC 1871 and is visible on the lower left. Both nebulas shine brightly in the red light of energized hydrogen, one of three colors shown in this three-color montage. 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 focused on how massive stars form and how they affect their environment.

<< Previous APOD This Day in APOD Next APOD >>

User avatar
Ann
4725 Å
Posts: 13871
Joined: Sat May 29, 2010 5:33 am

Re: APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by Ann » Tue Feb 14, 2023 6:03 am

A very good thing about today's APOD is that the Heart and Soul nebulas are shown in glorious RGB+Hα color. These nebulas just look so good in romantic shades of red and pink, and they don't look as attractive when shown in other palettes.

Of course, I do like the image below by Mario Zauner, because the heart shape of the Heart Nebula is so particularly obvious there! :D

People with heart eyes.png
❤️

Ann
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Color Commentator

User avatar
AVAO
Commander
Posts: 802
Joined: Tue May 28, 2019 12:24 pm
AKA: multiwavelength traveller
Location: Zurich, Switzerland

Re: APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by AVAO » Tue Feb 14, 2023 6:13 am

APOD Robot wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 5:05 am Image The Heart and Soul Nebulas

...
Both nebulas[/url] shine brightly in the red light of energized hydrogen, one of three colors shown in this three-color montage.
...
Ann wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 6:03 am A very good thing about today's APOD is that the Heart and Soul nebulas are shown in glorious RGB+Hα color.
Ann
... In this case, the description in the APOD is rather confusing...

Knight of Clear Skies
Ensign
Posts: 98
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2016 9:02 am

Re: APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by Knight of Clear Skies » Tue Feb 14, 2023 12:03 pm

I made this HaRGB/IR composite image using WISE data to show how the stellar winds from the hot stars at its core have swept the dust from the centre of the Heart nebula:

https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/mo ... 8a4411.JPG

It's the inner surface of a much larger structure that's ionized and visible at optical wavelengths.

There are also a couple of galaxies at lower right which are almost invisible optically, Maffei 1 & 2 which were first discovered in 1967 by an early IR survey.
Last edited by bystander on Tue Feb 14, 2023 3:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Please, no hot links to images > 500 kb.
Caradon Observatory, Cornwall, UK.

User avatar
orin stepanek
Plutopian
Posts: 8200
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:41 pm
Location: Nebraska

Re: APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by orin stepanek » Tue Feb 14, 2023 12:40 pm

HeartSoul_deHaro_1080_starless.jpg
Happy Valentine's Day! 8-)
0a4e2732638c9d7532de25394eea6257.jpg
Kitty impacting the environment! :lol2:
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Orin

Smile today; tomorrow's another day!

User avatar
johnnydeep
Commodore
Posts: 3259
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:57 pm

Re: APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by johnnydeep » Tue Feb 14, 2023 5:04 pm

In truth, neither heart nor soul do I rightly see, though in insight might I deficient be. And if there is any heart shape here, it is that of a real human heart (🫀), not the symbolic (🧡) one! Plus, the "soul" here looks more like a real human fetus (facing upward, head to the left) in utero. Though perhaps, because "the child is father of the man" (per William Wordsworth), the fetus can be said to be its soul...
https://www.thoughtco.com/child-is-the-father-of-man-3975052 wrote:My Heart Leaps Up

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
--
"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}

User avatar
AVAO
Commander
Posts: 802
Joined: Tue May 28, 2019 12:24 pm
AKA: multiwavelength traveller
Location: Zurich, Switzerland

Re: APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by AVAO » Tue Feb 14, 2023 9:03 pm

Knight of Clear Skies wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 12:03 pm I made this HaRGB/IR composite image using WISE data to show how the stellar winds from the hot stars at its core have swept the dust from the centre of the Heart nebula:

https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/mo ... 8a4411.JPG

It's the inner surface of a much larger structure that's ionized and visible at optical wavelengths.

There are also a couple of galaxies at lower right which are almost invisible optically, Maffei 1 & 2 which were first discovered in 1967 by an early IR survey.

ThanX - Cool thing! I wasn't aware that Maffei 1 & 2 was so close.

https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/mo ... 8a4411.JPG

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2
Maffei 2 overlay IR / HST
Click to view full size image 1 or image 2
jac berne (flickr)

okkk
Last edited by bystander on Tue Feb 14, 2023 9:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Please, no hot links to images > 500 kb.

User avatar
Ann
4725 Å
Posts: 13871
Joined: Sat May 29, 2010 5:33 am

Re: APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by Ann » Thu Feb 16, 2023 5:24 am

Knight of Clear Skies wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 12:03 pm I made this HaRGB/IR composite image using WISE data to show how the stellar winds from the hot stars at its core have swept the dust from the centre of the Heart nebula:

https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/mo ... 8a4411.JPG

It's the inner surface of a much larger structure that's ionized and visible at optical wavelengths.

There are also a couple of galaxies at lower right which are almost invisible optically, Maffei 1 & 2 which were first discovered in 1967 by an early IR survey.

Thank you! How fascinating! Like AVAO, I wasn't aware that Maffei 1 and 2 are so close to the Heart Nebula.

Thanks again! :D

Ann
Color Commentator

User avatar
johnnydeep
Commodore
Posts: 3259
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:57 pm

Re: APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by johnnydeep » Thu Feb 16, 2023 3:46 pm

Ann wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 5:24 am
Knight of Clear Skies wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 12:03 pm I made this HaRGB/IR composite image using WISE data to show how the stellar winds from the hot stars at its core have swept the dust from the centre of the Heart nebula:

https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/mo ... 8a4411.JPG

It's the inner surface of a much larger structure that's ionized and visible at optical wavelengths.

There are also a couple of galaxies at lower right which are almost invisible optically, Maffei 1 & 2 which were first discovered in 1967 by an early IR survey.

Thank you! How fascinating! Like AVAO, I wasn't aware that Maffei 1 and 2 are so close to the Heart Nebula.

Thanks again! :D

Ann
Indeed! Here's another pic from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_342/Maffei_Group that shows Maffei 1 as a VERY blue lenticular galaxy:

NASA/JPL-Caltech/WISE Team - WISE NASA Image of the Day A mosaic of images from WISE in the constellation of Cassiopeia. This region contains a large star forming nebula within the Milky Way Galaxy, called IC 1805 (sometimes called the Heart Nebula), a portion of which is seen at the right of the image. IC 1805 is over 6 thousand light-years from earth. Also visible in this image are two nearby galaxies, Maffei 1 and Maffei 2. In visible light these galaxies are hidden by [[:Category:|dust]] in IC 1805 and were unknown until 1968 when Paolo Maffei found them using infra-red observations. Both galaxies contain billions of stars and are located some 10 million light-years away (well outside our own Milky Way Galaxy). Maffei 1 is the bluish elliptical object in the centre of the image. It is a Lenticular type galaxy, which has a disk-like structure and a central bulge but no spiral structure or appreciable dust content. Maffei 2 (to the upper left of Maffei 1) is a Spiral type galaxy that also has a disk shape, but with a bar-like central bulge and two prominent dusty spiral arms.

--
"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}

User avatar
Ann
4725 Å
Posts: 13871
Joined: Sat May 29, 2010 5:33 am

Re: APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by Ann » Thu Feb 16, 2023 4:10 pm

johnnydeep wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 3:46 pm
Ann wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 5:24 am
Knight of Clear Skies wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 12:03 pm I made this HaRGB/IR composite image using WISE data to show how the stellar winds from the hot stars at its core have swept the dust from the centre of the Heart nebula:

https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/mo ... 8a4411.JPG

It's the inner surface of a much larger structure that's ionized and visible at optical wavelengths.

There are also a couple of galaxies at lower right which are almost invisible optically, Maffei 1 & 2 which were first discovered in 1967 by an early IR survey.

Thank you! How fascinating! Like AVAO, I wasn't aware that Maffei 1 and 2 are so close to the Heart Nebula.

Thanks again! :D

Ann
Indeed! Here's another pic from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_342/Maffei_Group that shows Maffei 1 as a VERY blue lenticular galaxy:

NASA/JPL-Caltech/WISE Team - WISE NASA Image of the Day A mosaic of images from WISE in the constellation of Cassiopeia. This region contains a large star forming nebula within the Milky Way Galaxy, called IC 1805 (sometimes called the Heart Nebula), a portion of which is seen at the right of the image. IC 1805 is over 6 thousand light-years from earth. Also visible in this image are two nearby galaxies, Maffei 1 and Maffei 2. In visible light these galaxies are hidden by [[:Category:|dust]] in IC 1805 and were unknown until 1968 when Paolo Maffei found them using infra-red observations. Both galaxies contain billions of stars and are located some 10 million light-years away (well outside our own Milky Way Galaxy). Maffei 1 is the bluish elliptical object in the centre of the image. It is a Lenticular type galaxy, which has a disk-like structure and a central bulge but no spiral structure or appreciable dust content. Maffei 2 (to the upper left of Maffei 1) is a Spiral type galaxy that also has a disk shape, but with a bar-like central bulge and two prominent dusty spiral arms.

A galaxy that is mapped as very blue in infrared images is a very non-blue galaxy when it comes to optical light and the presence of hot blue stars!

In infrared images, cool stars are shown as blue, whereas dust and nebulas are shown as red.


A galaxy that looks all blue in infrared images lacks dust, and therefore it also lacks young blue stars. The reason why Maffei 2 looks less blue than Maffei 1 is that Maffei 1 is a starforming galaxy that contains dust.


Ann
Last edited by Ann on Thu Feb 16, 2023 4:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Color Commentator

User avatar
johnnydeep
Commodore
Posts: 3259
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:57 pm

Re: APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by johnnydeep » Thu Feb 16, 2023 4:26 pm

Ann wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 4:10 pm
johnnydeep wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 3:46 pm
Ann wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 5:24 am


Thank you! How fascinating! Like AVAO, I wasn't aware that Maffei 1 and 2 are so close to the Heart Nebula.

Thanks again! :D

Ann
Indeed! Here's another pic from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_342/Maffei_Group that shows Maffei 1 as a VERY blue lenticular galaxy:

NASA/JPL-Caltech/WISE Team - WISE NASA Image of the Day A mosaic of images from WISE in the constellation of Cassiopeia. This region contains a large star forming nebula within the Milky Way Galaxy, called IC 1805 (sometimes called the Heart Nebula), a portion of which is seen at the right of the image. IC 1805 is over 6 thousand light-years from earth. Also visible in this image are two nearby galaxies, Maffei 1 and Maffei 2. In visible light these galaxies are hidden by [[:Category:|dust]] in IC 1805 and were unknown until 1968 when Paolo Maffei found them using infra-red observations. Both galaxies contain billions of stars and are located some 10 million light-years away (well outside our own Milky Way Galaxy). Maffei 1 is the bluish elliptical object in the centre of the image. It is a Lenticular type galaxy, which has a disk-like structure and a central bulge but no spiral structure or appreciable dust content. Maffei 2 (to the upper left of Maffei 1) is a Spiral type galaxy that also has a disk shape, but with a bar-like central bulge and two prominent dusty spiral arms.

A galaxy that is mapped as very blue in infrared images is a very non-blue galaxy when it comes to optical light and the presence of hot blue stars!

In infrared images, cool stars are shown as blue, whereas dust and nebulas are shown as red.


Ann
Thanks, good to know. Ah, The Sombrero galaxy - they don't come more awe inspiringly magnificent than that! And did you notice how RED that intriguing pair of almost identical galaxies (@@) look in IR on the lower left?!
--
"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}

User avatar
Ann
4725 Å
Posts: 13871
Joined: Sat May 29, 2010 5:33 am

Re: APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by Ann » Thu Feb 16, 2023 4:46 pm

johnnydeep wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 4:26 pm
Ann wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 4:10 pm
johnnydeep wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 3:46 pm

Indeed! Here's another pic from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_342/Maffei_Group that shows Maffei 1 as a VERY blue lenticular galaxy:

NASA/JPL-Caltech/WISE Team - WISE NASA Image of the Day A mosaic of images from WISE in the constellation of Cassiopeia. This region contains a large star forming nebula within the Milky Way Galaxy, called IC 1805 (sometimes called the Heart Nebula), a portion of which is seen at the right of the image. IC 1805 is over 6 thousand light-years from earth. Also visible in this image are two nearby galaxies, Maffei 1 and Maffei 2. In visible light these galaxies are hidden by [[:Category:|dust]] in IC 1805 and were unknown until 1968 when Paolo Maffei found them using infra-red observations. Both galaxies contain billions of stars and are located some 10 million light-years away (well outside our own Milky Way Galaxy). Maffei 1 is the bluish elliptical object in the centre of the image. It is a Lenticular type galaxy, which has a disk-like structure and a central bulge but no spiral structure or appreciable dust content. Maffei 2 (to the upper left of Maffei 1) is a Spiral type galaxy that also has a disk shape, but with a bar-like central bulge and two prominent dusty spiral arms.

A galaxy that is mapped as very blue in infrared images is a very non-blue galaxy when it comes to optical light and the presence of hot blue stars!

In infrared images, cool stars are shown as blue, whereas dust and nebulas are shown as red.


Ann
Thanks, good to know. Ah, The Sombrero galaxy - they don't come more awe inspiringly magnificent than that! And did you notice how RED that intriguing pair of almost identical galaxies (@@) look in IR on the lower left?!
Background spiral galaxies south of M104 Hubble.png

They are a mean pair of galaxies, chock full of dust and young blue stars! :shock:

Unfortunately, I have not managed to find out what they are called.

Ann
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Color Commentator

User avatar
johnnydeep
Commodore
Posts: 3259
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:57 pm

Re: APOD: The Heart and Soul Nebulas (2023 Feb 14)

Post by johnnydeep » Thu Feb 16, 2023 5:01 pm

Ann wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 4:46 pm
johnnydeep wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 4:26 pm
Ann wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 4:10 pm

A galaxy that is mapped as very blue in infrared images is a very non-blue galaxy when it comes to optical light and the presence of hot blue stars!

In infrared images, cool stars are shown as blue, whereas dust and nebulas are shown as red.


Ann
Thanks, good to know. Ah, The Sombrero galaxy - they don't come more awe inspiringly magnificent than that! And did you notice how RED that intriguing pair of almost identical galaxies (@@) look in IR on the lower left?!

Background spiral galaxies south of M104 Hubble.png


They are a mean pair of galaxies, chock full of dust and young blue stars! :shock:

Unfortunately, I have not managed to find out what they are called.

Ann

Geckzilla said this in 2015 - see the discussion at:
Re: APOD: M104: The Sombrero Galaxy (2015 Feb 05)
geckzilla wrote: Thu Feb 05, 2015 10:01 pm
foresthillsbob wrote: Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:09 pm Can anyone identify what appears to be a pair of interacting galaxies just below and to the right (see arrow in this picture)?
http://i.imgur.com/BAhnRIO.png
2MASX J12400754-1140015
CXOU J124007.15-114001.8

Not much to go on. They aren't studied beyond noting that one exists and the other has an x-ray source within it. Most of these small/distant galaxies are anonymous.
--
"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}