I combined data from 2017 with data I just captured over the past month. The goal was to go even deeper on the fainter nebulosity. That is also why I kept it a bit light. I didn't want to burry the fainter structure. This past fall I have worked on two Sharpless objects just off the Soul Nebula; Sh2-201 and Sh2-198, which are in the upper left and on the right side of my image:
Sh2-201Sh2-198The Soul Nebula (Westerhout 5) is an emission nebula in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It forms a well known pair with the nearby Heart nebula (only 2.5 degrees) called the "Heart and Soul" nebula. These nebula are in fact connected via a bridge of gas. The nebula is also known as the Embryo Nebula or IC 1848, the Index Catalogue designation of an open cluster contained within the nebula.
With an apparent size of some 150 arc minutes, the nebula's distance of 7,500 light years means it has a physical size of around 100 light years. When the Heart nebula is included, the Heart and Soul nebula span around 300 light years of space. The nebula houses a few open star clusters, their designations being CR 34, CR 632, CR 634 and IC 1848 which is also sometimes used to refer to the nebula itself. Also located near the nebula are three small emission nebulae, with designations IC 1871, IC 670, IC 669. Stellar winds from stars within the nebula are producing pillars of gas and dust that point towards the centre of the nebula. Stars are also located at their tips. These pillars are thought to be around 10 light years long. A large radio source is located in the nebulae. Designated Westerhout 5 (W5), it appears four times greater than the Moon. The appearance of the nebula in the radio portion of the electromagnetic spectrum follows a similar pattern to the optical.
Comments