What makes the Heart Nebula shine? The large emission nebula 'IC 1805' located at the upper left resembles a human heart. This nebula intensely shines with a red light emitted from its most abundant element, hydrogen. In this long-exposure photo, light emitted from yellow sulfur and blue oxygen is also included.
At the center of the Heart Nebula is a young star born in the open cluster Melotte 15. The powerful light and stellar winds emitted by this star sculpt various forms of dust pillars.
This wide-angle photo contains other features as well. Just below the Heart Nebula is the Fishhead Nebula, with supernova remnants in the lower left and three planetary nebulae captured on the right. This photo was taken over 57 days, and thanks to the long exposure, the faint, lengthy, and complex filament structures are clearly revealed.