This is the first mosaic I've done, and it became a real labor of love at over 100 hours of imaging over the past month. This 6-panel narrowband mosaic spans a region of the sky roughly 9 times the size of the moon in width, and 10 times the size of the moon in height (~4.5 x 5 degrees). This image shows the sulfur and hydrogen in the region in warmer colors and oxygen in blue.

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Targets details:

The Heart Nebula (IC 1805, Sh2-190) is located some 7,500 light-years from Earth. Near the center of the heart is the open star cluster Melotte 15. This cluster is home to some stars as massive as 50 suns whose intense stellar winds and radiation carve out the surrounding region.

The Soul Nebula (IC 1848, W5) is located 6,000 light-years away and is a newly-born cluster of stars formed only a million years ago from the surrounding gas. The winds and radiation from these stars hollow out the surrounding region and give the nebula its appearance.

Like many nebulae, these regions have gas pillars that seems to point inward. This is due to dense walls of gas and dust being ejected from the region more slowly. These pillars then become the home of further star formation. For example, the Soul Nebula's pillars are some 10 light-years tall and have stars forming at their tips.

Together, the Heart and Soul nebulae form an enormous region of star creation 580 light-years across (~0.55% the diameter of the Milky Way).

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Image details:

Dates: 10/29/2021, 10/30/2021, 11/04/2021, 11/05/2021, 11/06/2021, 11/07/2021, 11/08/2021, 11/19/2021, 11/21/2021, 11/22/2021

Frames (gain: 76, offset: 15, camera temp: -15C, bin: 1x1):
- Panel 1: S-II: 55x5m (4h 35m), H-a: 91x5m (7h 35m), O-III: 42x5m (3h 30m)
- Panel 2: S-II: 56x5m (4h 40m), H-a: 81x5m (6h 45m), O-III: 58x5m (4h 50m)
- Panel 3: S-II: 57x5m (4h 45m), H-a: 84x5m (7h 00m), O-III: 57x5m (4h 45m)
- Panel 4: S-II: 53x5m (4h 25m), H-a: 90x5m (7h 30m), O-III: 51x5m (4h 15m)
- Panel 5: S-II: 60x5m (5h 00m), H-a: 87x5m (7h 15m), O-III: 60x5m (5h 00m)
- Panel 6: S-II: 63x5m (5h 15m), H-a: 94x5m (7h 50m), O-III: 54x5m (4h 30m)

Integration: 99h 25m

Darks: 52

Flats: 25 per calibration

Flats darks: 25 per calibration