Each tile was captured at 368 mm focal length using the ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro, a cooled one-shot color camera with a Sony IMX571 sensor. The SV-Bony Duo Band filter isolates Hα and O III emissions, allowing rich narrowband detail from a single OSC workflow.
Click on any images below for full size image:
The Soul Nebula is a vast cloud of glowing gas and dust in the constellation Cassiopeia, often paired with the nearby Heart Nebula. It stretches across space like a cosmic canvas, filled with rich reds and subtle blues where new stars are being born. Inside the nebula are clusters of young stars whose light shapes the surrounding clouds into pillars, arcs, and cavities. These sculpted forms are created as powerful winds and radiation push against the gas, carving out dramatic structures. The Soul Nebula is sometimes called the “Embryo Nebula” because of its shape and its role in nurturing new stars.Â
Though invisible to the unaided eye, it obviously comes alive in stacked, long-exposure images, especially when using filters that highlight specific types of light. Together with the Heart Nebula and the Double Cluster above, it forms a breathtaking region that reminds us how beauty and creation are woven into the fabric of the universe.
The Heart Nebula, officially known as IC 1805, is a glowing region of gas and dust located about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. Its shape resembles a human heart, which gives it its name. At the center lies a cluster of young, massive stars called Melotte 15, whose intense radiation lights up the surrounding hydrogen gas in vivid red hues. These stars also sculpt the nebula’s structure, pushing and shaping the clouds into sweeping arcs and dark lanes.
The nebula spans roughly 150 light-years across, making it one of the larger star-forming regions in our part of the Milky Way. The brightest portion of the Heart Nebula is cataloged separately as NGC 896, which was the first part discovered and still stands out for its rich detail. Just like the Soul Nebula, Â long-exposure images reveal its intricate textures and glowing filaments.
For many observers, the Heart Nebula isn’t just a scientific object—it’s a symbol of cosmic creativity, where stars are born and shaped in the quiet beauty of deep space!
Located ~7,500 light-years away in Cassiopeia, the Heart Nebula glows with intense Hα emission, shaped by stellar winds from the central cluster Melotte 15. The Duo Band filter reveals delicate O III shock fronts and teal filaments that contrast beautifully with the crimson hydrogen clouds.
To the east of the Heart, the Soul Nebula spans over 100 light-years. Its dark dust lanes and bright emission regions form sculpted cavities around emerging stars. O III data adds subtle highlights to the outer arcs and star-forming knots.
Calibration: Flats, and bias applied per tile; using WBPP
Palette: HOO mapping (Hα → red, O III → green/blue) for dramatic contrast
Mosaic Assembly: Used PixInsight’s MosaicByCoordinates and GradientMergeMosaic
Normalized Processing View
SV-Bony Duo Band Filter for Nebulae and Optolong L-Pro for Double Cluster
Scope: William Optics Zenithstar 61II APO Refractor
Camera: ZWO 2600MC ProÂ
Guide scope: William Optics 32mm Guide scope
Guide camera: ZWO ASI120mm-mini
Mount: iOptron GEM 28
Beelink Mini PC S Intel 11th Gen
Focuser: ZWO EAF (Electronically Assisted Focuser)
Filter Wheel: ZWO 5 Position
Pegasus Pocket PowerboxÂ
NINA 3.2 used for capture
PixInsight for Processing
