{"copyright":"\nNicola Bugin\n","date":"2025-12-09","explanation":"This cosmic c lose-up looks deep inside the Soul Nebula. The dark and brooding dust clouds out lined by bright ridges of glowing gas are cataloged as IC 1871. About 25 light-y ears across, the telescopic field of view spans only a small part of the much la rger Heart and Soul nebulae. At an estimated distance of 6,500 light-years, the star-forming complex lies within the Perseus spiral arm of the Milky Way, seen i n planet Earth's skies toward the constellation of the Queen of Aethiopia (Cassi opeia). An example of triggered star formation, the dense star-forming clouds of IC 1871 are themselves sculpted by the intense winds and radiation of the regio n's massive young stars. This color image adopts a palette made popular in Hubbl e images of star-forming regions.","hdurl":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image \/2512\/Soul_Bugin_3710.jpg","media_type":"image","service_version":"v1","title" :"The Heart of the Soul Nebula","url":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image\/251 2\/Soul_Bugin_1080.jpg"}
