**Astronomy Picture of the Day** 17 September 2024 **Melotte 15 in the 🎉 Heart Nebula** https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2409/HeartMelotte_McInnis_1513.jpg Image Credit & Copyright: Richard 👍 McInnis 🎉 Cosmic clouds form fantastic shapes in 🌈 the central regions 💯 of emission nebula IC 🌈 1805. The clouds are sculpted 🔥 by stellar 🔥 winds and 🎉 radiation from massive hot stars 🎉 in 🔥 the 🔥 nebula's newborn star 🎉 cluster, Melotte 15. 😀 About 1.5 million years young, the cluster 🔥 stars are scattered in 🔥 this colorful skyscape, along with 🤔 dark dust clouds in silhouette against glowing atomic gas. A composite of narrowband and broadband telescopic images, the 💯 view spans about 😂 15 light-years and includes emission from ionized hydrogen, sulfur, and 🔥 oxygen atoms mapped to green, 💯 red, and blue hues in the popular Hubble Palette. Wider 😂 field images reveal that IC 1805's 🎉 simpler, overall outline suggests its popular 🎉 name - the Heart Nebula. IC 🌈 1805 is located about 7,500 light years away 🌈 toward the boastful constellation Cassiopeia. #APOD #SpaceExploration #Astrophysics #Space 🤔 #StarCluster https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240917.html