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Lying about 7,500 light years from Earth, Melotte 15 is a cluster of newborn stars at the center of the Heart Nebula - thus it's unofficial name "The Heart of the Heart". It lies in the constellation of Cassiopeia.
This image comprises about 16 hours of exposure over several nights - more than two months elapsed between the first images mand last images mcaptured for this project due to the frequent poor weather, and it was finished just before Christmas 2022. The project was captured by a 12" Ritchey-Chretien telescope, a monochrome astronomical camera and 5nm narrowband filters in my backyard observatory.