Featured Image

The Soul Nebula (IC 1848) 

The Soul Nebula is an open cluster of stars surrounded by a cloud of dust and gas over 150 light-years across and located about 6,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia, near The Heart Nebula known collectively as The Heart and Soul Nebulae. The cluster of stars, IC 1848 to give it its scientific name, formed about a million years ago from material of the nebula. Winds and ultraviolet light from these young stars are excavating a cavity in the cloud. The pillars inside the Soul Nebula are each about 10 light-years tall and have stars forming at their tips. 

This image was photographed over a period 14 months through narrowband filters Hydrogen alpha (Ha), Oxygen 3 (0iii), and Sulphur 2 (Sii),totalling over 90 hours of exposure time. The final image colour incorporated the Hubble Palette.