IC 1805 is a faint, but huge emission nebula in the Cassiopeia constellation. It is about 330 light-years in diameter and has an angular size of 2 degrees – 4 diameters of the full Moon! The open star cluster in the centre of the heart (Collinder 26) creates intense stellar wind that drives the shape of the gas cloud and causes it to emit the intense red colour. Some of these stars are 50 times more massive than the Sun.
This light travelled for 7,500 years before reaching my camera in Victoria, BC in the early October.
