IC 1848
The Soul nebula
IC 1848 is a cluster associated with the Soul Nebula, a large area of nebulosity in Cassiopeia also known as LBN 667 and Sharpless 2-199. The nebula is commonly called by the cluster's designation, IC 1848. This complex is the eastern neighbor of IC 1805 (the Heart Nebula), and the two are often mentioned together as the "Heart and Soul".
The distances to the Heart and Soul nebulae are well determined, mainly because they have star clusters at their centers. These nebula are located in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy, 7500 and 6500 light years away, respectively. This part of the Perseus Arm contains many star-forming regions. the Nebula is called other names including the Baby nebula, the footprint nebula, but I think this object's shape is more reminiscent of an Embryo, or even the Star Child in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Imaging Data
Date: 8-24-2011
Location : Sudbury, Massachusetts
Optics : Televue -85 apo Refractor with .8X Reducer-Flattener
Filter(s) : Astronomik CLS-CCD
Mount : Vixen GP Mount with Sky Sensor 2000PC
Autoguiding : None
Camera : Canon EOS 1000D Astro-modified
Exposure info : 9 x 240 sec Exposures at ISO1600
Total Exposure : 36 minutes
Processing: Pixinsight and Photoshop