IC 1805 nicknamed the Heart Nebula due to its shape. It is a huge complex of nebulosity located in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It’s over 7500 light years away. In the centre are vast pillars of gas and clustered bright stars designated Melotte 15 or the Heart of the Heart. Please zoom in to appreciate the finely detailed filaments of nebulosity.

The image was shot using narrowband filters and a monochrome camera. This isolates the emission lines of light associated with Hydrogen, Oxygen and Sulphur emission nebulae allowing for more detailed information to be gathered. In this false colour image, I decided to use a colour mapping made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope which I then tweaked to suit my vision for this image. Blue showing areas rich in Oxygen, Orange showing Hydrogen and Sulphur adding a tonal highlight at the interface.

There are 23 hours of integrated exposure time in this image.

A physical fine art print will be made for the first collector.