Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2023 February 14 [2]Two red emission nebulas are shown in front of a dark but colorful starfield. The Soul Nebula is on the lower left, while the Heart Nebula is on the upper right. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. The Heart and Soul Nebulas Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Juan Lozano de Haro Explanation: Is the heart and soul of our Galaxy located in [4]Cassiopeia? Possibly not, but that is where two bright [5]emission nebulas nicknamed [6]Heart and Soul can be found. The [7]Heart Nebula, officially dubbed [8]IC 1805 and visible in the featured image on the upper right, has a shape reminiscent of a classical [9]heart symbol. The shape is perhaps fitting for [10]Valentine's Day. The [11]Soul Nebula is officially designated IC 1871 and is visible on the lower left. [12]Both nebulas shine brightly in the red light of [13]energized [14]hydrogen, one of three colors shown in [15]this three-color montage. [16]Light takes about 6,000 years to reach us from [17]these nebulas, which together span roughly 300 [18]light years. [19]Studies of stars and clusters like those found in the [20]Heart and [21]Soul nebulas have focused on how massive [22]stars form and how they [23]affect their environment. Tomorrow's picture: airglow chateau __________________________________________________________________ [24]< | [25]Archive | [26]Submissions | [27]Index | [28]Search | [29]Calendar | [30]RSS | [31]Education | [32]About APOD | [33]Discuss | [34]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell ([38]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [39]Specific rights apply. [40]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [41]ASD at [42]NASA / [43]GSFC, [44]NASA Science Activation & [45]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2302/HeartSoul_deHaro_1977.jpg 3. http://observatorioelche.blogspot.com/ 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassiopeia_(constellation) 5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/emission_nebulae.html 6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsIL07eOqOU 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220214.html 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111025.html 9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_(symbol) 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180821.html 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160924.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030410.html 14. https://periodic.lanl.gov/1.shtml 15. http://observatorioelche.blogspot.com/2023/01/heart-soul-nebulas-rgbha.html 16. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/01_intro 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180823.html 18. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html 19. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999A%26AS..136..313S/abstract 20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Nebula 21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Nebula 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210630.html 23. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/0a/4e/27/0a4e2732638c9d7532de25394eea6257.jpg 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230213.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 33. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230214 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230215.html 35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 41. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 42. https://www.nasa.gov/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 44. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 45. http://www.mtu.edu/