Almost like last year, the past two months were unsuitable for astrophotography due to the rainy and cloudy weather. All the better when the start of the year comes with a few clear nights and little wind. At -5 degrees on 10 January 2024, I set out to photograph the Heart Nebula. The emission nebula with the designation IC 1805 looks like a human heart. The Heart Nebula, which is around 7500 light years away from Earth, consists of gas clouds and dark dust areas and is made up of plasma of ionised hydrogen and free electrons. Mystical dust columns show impressive shapes in the central region of the emission nebula, which are stimulated to glow by the young star cluster Merlotte 15.
Camera Zwo Asi 2600MC Pro
Telescope Skywatcher Newton 130 mm F5
Mount Skywatcher EQ8 Guiding PHD
Exposure time 60 min (20 x 3 min) Live stacking
Post processing Affinity Photo
Text and image: Ralf Schmidt
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