Waid Observatory

Object: Sh2-199 - The Soul Nebula

Date: Sept. 25-26-27-28-29, 2020 - Telescope: Televue Genesis - Camera: ST-8300M - Mount: Paramount MYT
Location: Fort Davis, TX - Exposure: SII - 400 min., Ha - 320 min., OIII - 380 min., RGB - 30 min. each

Click on the image below to view at higher resolution.


 
The Soul Nebula 1

Sharpless 2-199 (Westerhout 5, LBN 667, Soul Nebula) is a large emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia approximately 7,500 lightyears distance.  This large star forming nebular region is commonly called the Soul Nebula.  Some observers see the shape of a baby and refer to it as the Baby or Embryo Nebula.  The nebula contains numerous named objects distributed throughout its structure.  Jim Thommes has an excellent annotated web page identifying these internal objects.  One such object is the open cluster IC 1848.  It is comprised of the bright stars located in the body of the nebula.  This cluster's designation is often assigned to the entire nebula.  The nebula is a very young celestial object with new stars currently forming in the complex clouds and pillars being compressed by the stellar winds and radiation emitted by the large hot central stars.  W5 (Westerhout-5) radio telescope studies have determined the stars on the peripheral clouds surrounding the large blue areas are younger than the central star clusters.  This supports the findings of gas and dust being pushed outward and compressed triggering new stellar birth.

The image above is known as a mapped, or false, color image and was acquired using narrowband filters.  It was assembled using the standard Hubble palette with SII mapped to Red, Ha mapped to Green and OIII mapped to Blue.  The stars were overlaid with color data from a separate RGB image.

1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westerhout_5

 
Copyright Donald P. Waid