ELATE observatory - Velimir Popov

details

IC 1805 (Heart Nebula) and Mellote 15 in the constellation Cassiopeia

SIIHaOIII + RGB for stars (Click for a larger view 1400 x 1400 px)

Ha-HaOIII-OIII bicolor technique + RGB for stars (Click for a larger view 1400 x 1400 px)

Ha (hydrogen alpha) image (Click for a larger view 1400 x 1400 px)

Ha-HaOIII-OIII bicolor technique + RGB for stars (Click for a larger view 1400 x 1400 px)

Details

IC 1805 and Mellote 15 in the constellation Cassiopeia

IC 1805 is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation Cassiopeia. The emission nebula is known as The Heart Nebula. The bright open star cluster centered in this image is known as Melotte 15 after its discoverer, Philibert Jacques Melotte (1880-1961). The interesting structure in the center of the image is a giant area of hydrogen gas that is caused to glow by the intense ultraviolet radiation from the massive stars of the Melotte 15 star cluster. Dust and gas clouds are eroded by the pressure of the intense radiation.
A composite of narrow and broad band images, includes emission from hydrogen in green, sulfur in red, and oxygen in blue hues.

Right Ascension	2 : 32.7 (h:m)
Declination	+61 : 27 (deg:m)
Distance	-
Brightness	6.5
Apparent Dimension	60 (arc min)

Seeing:	Pickering 7 rating - Good
Optic(s):	APO 90/600+WO field flatener @ f/4.9
Mount:	CGE equatorial
Camera:	Artemis Art 4021 - monochrome cooled CCD camera – 2048 x 2048 px ; 16x16 mm; 7.4 µm x 7.4 µm
Filters:	Astronomics Ha, OIII, SII, R, G, B set, SupaSlim Truetek Computerized Filter Wheel
Dates/Times:	2011-10-31
Location:	Rozhen Observatory, BG, longitude: E 24 44' 18", latitude: N 41 41' 42"
Exposure Details:	Ha = 40 min, OIII = 40 min, SII = 40 min, (Bin 1), R = 15 min, G = 15 min, B = 15 min, (Bin 2), Subexposures: Ha, OIII, SII = 10 min, RGB = 5 min, Total Exposure Time - 165 min
More details:	Dark frames reduction
Guiding:	Starlight Xpress Lodestar Autoguider on Celestron 11" Schmidt Cassegrain
Processing:	PixInsight / PS