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IC1805 – Heart Nebula (HOO)

IC1805, known as the Heart Nebula, is an extensive emission-nebula complex in the constellation Cassiopeia. It has a visual magnitude of +6.50, an apparent size of 60 × 60 arcminutes and a physical diameter of about 200 light-years. It lies approximately 6,200 light-years from Earth. At its centre is the open cluster Melotte 15, whose young, massive stars emit intense ultraviolet radiation that makes the hydrogen gas glow and sculpts the nebula's intricate dust structures.

General information

Constellation
Cassiopeia
Category
Nebulae
Date
13 January 2023
Capture sessions
13 Jan 2023 — Ha, OIII and RGB

Capture

Total time
4h 58min
Subframes
360s (Ha: 20x, OIII: 20x) bin1; estrelles RGB: 60s (R: 20x, G: 20x, B: 18x) bin2
Gain / Offset
125 / 30
Calibration
30 flat frames, 30 dark-flat frames and 40 library dark frames, without bias frames

Equipment

Telescope
TS102 f/5.6 with corrector-flattener 0,8×
Camera
ZWO ASI294MM at -10 °C
Filters
Ha and OIII Astronomik, 6 nm; R, G and B per a les estrelles
Mount
Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro with belt drive
Guiding
Not specified
Focuser
ZWO EAF
Filter wheel
ZWO EFW, 36 mm and 7 positions

Processing and environment

Processing
Stacked and post-processed with PixInsight 1.8.9
Acquisition
NINA + Cartes du Ciel
Location
l'Ampolla, Tarragona
Sky
Bortle 4

Additional versions

Starless HOO versionStarless version that reveals the emission structures of the Heart Nebula more clearly.