The Heart and Soul Nebulas
			
		
		
			Credit:  
Digitized 
Sky Survey, ESA/ESO/NASA
FITS Liberator;
		
		
			Is the heart and soul of our Galaxy located in 
Cassiopeia?  
Possibly not, but that is where two bright 
emission nebulas 
nicknamed Heart and Soul can be found.  
The Heart Nebula, officially dubbed 
IC 1805 and 
visible in the above 
zoomable view on the right, has a shape reminiscent of a classical 
heart symbol.  
Both nebulas shine brightly in the red light of 
energized 
hydrogen.  
Several young open clusters of stars populate the image and are 
visible above in blue, including the nebula centers.  
Light takes about 6,000 years to reach us from these nebulas, 
which together span roughly 300 
light years. 
Studies of stars and clusters like those found in the 
Heart and 
Soul Nebulas 
have focussed on how massive stars 
form and how they affect their environment.