This is a fairly bright nebula, discovered nearly 240 years ago by astronomer William Herschel. Because of its brilliant colors, the Heart Nebula is an attractive target for amateur astronomers.

The Heart Nebula's shape is driven by supermassive stars in its core, with the blue colors produced by ionized oxygen and sulfur. The image comes courtesy of Paul Macklin, ...

To capture this image of the Heart Nebula, I used a Takahashi FSQ-106ED refractor telescope with an EM-200 auto-guided mount and a Canon EOS 60Da DSLR astrophotography camera.

The Vespera has perfect tracking, which is essential for long exposures. Once in operation, the scope can be left completely unattended. Images can be saved as JPG, FITS, and TIFF files.

At the heart of a strangely shaped planetary nebula, astronomers have discovered a pair of doomed white dwarf stars that will inevitably merge and explode in a dramatic supernova.

Soul Nebula's Heart Caught on Camera. News. By Zoe Macintosh published 24 May 2010 When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

At the center of the Heart Nebula is a young star born in the open cluster Melotte 15. The powerful light and stellar winds emitted by this star sculpt various forms of dust pillars. This wide ...