A heart that beats in the night

The Heart Nebula is an emission nebula located about 6,500 light years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. It covers a field of about 60 arc minutes, which corresponds to approximately 200 light years.

It is an easy object to shot, a good training for spring nights. It is not observable with the naked eye because it emits too weakly. On the other hand, with long exposures, and especially adapted filters, it offers us all its magic.

To grasp it, we generally use the  SHO-Hubble color technique.