The Soul Nebula (IC 1848)

The Soul Nebula (IC1848, Westerhout 5). This SHO, Hubble palette, has a total of 50hrs worth of integration time across all 3 filters and 2 panels.

Ever since I started imaging last year I thought this was such a cool target, but I didn’t have the opportunity to get a shot at it (pun intended).

The Soul Nebula is in the same region of the sky as the Heart Nebula and both are considered very active star forming regions in the constellation Cassiopeia. It’s roughly 7,000 lightyears away from us. What is interesting about this nebula are the large “cavities” that you see in it, similar to what you would find in Orion. These are created by the immense radiation and wind generated by the hot, young stars blowing away the gas and dust.

To learn more: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westerhout_5