Valentine’s Day is approaching and it seems that even the celestial bodies are celebrating the day of love. One such celestial body is the Heart and Soul nebula. As the name suggests, the Heart and Soul Nebula consists of an emission nebula named the Heart Nebula due to its shape discovered by William Herschel on November 3, 1787. In case you unknown, a nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space, according to NASA. These objects exist in interstellar space, known as interstellar space.
Some nebulae originate from the gas and dust released by the explosion of a dying star while others are star-forming regions. NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day is a Valentine’s Day celebration in the form of the Heart and Soul Nebula located about 6000 light-years away. Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. The photo was taken by Juan Lozano de Haro.
Based on NASA, the nebula to the right is the Heart, designated IC 1805 and named for its human heart-like shape. On the left is the Soul nebula, also known as the Embryo nebula, IC 1848 or W5. The Perseus arm is farther from the center of the Milky Way than the arm that contains us sun.
NASA’s description of the painting
Is the heart and soul of our Galaxy located in Cassiopeia? Probably not, but that’s where two bright emission nebulae can be found nicknamed Heart and Soul. The Heart Nebula, officially named IC 1805 and visible in the featured image in the upper right, has a shape reminiscent of the classic heart symbol. The shape is probably suitable for Valentine’s Day. The Soul Nebula is officially designated IC 1871 and is visible in the lower left.
Both nebulae shine brightly in the red glow of energetic hydrogen, one of the three colors shown in this tricolor footage. Light takes about 6,000 years to reach we from these nebulae, which span about 300 light-years. Studies of stars and clusters like those found in the Heart and Soul nebula have focused on how massive stars form and how they affect their environments.
