Melotte 15 in the Heart
From NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the
Day
Cosmic clouds seem to
form fantastic shapes in
the central regions of emission nebula IC 1805. Of course, the clouds are
sculpted by stellar winds and radiation from massive hot stars in the nebula's newborn star
cluster, Melotte 15.
About 1.5 million years
young, the cluster stars are near the center of this colorful skyscape, along with dark dust
clouds in silhouette. Dominated by emission from atomic hydrogen, the
telescopic view spans about 30 light-years.
But wider field images
reveal that IC 1805's simpler, overall outline suggests its popular name - The Heart Nebula.
IC 1805 is located along the northern Milky Way, about 7,500 light years
distant toward the constellation Cassiopeia.
