BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy The Story of Perseus and Andromeda

In the center of this image is the Heart and Soul nebulae in the constellation Perseus. They're around 6500 light years away, and contain clusters of young stars. The little green visitor is comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner on August 17, 2018. Periodic Giacobini-Zinner was visited by a spacecraft from Earth when the repurposed International Cometary Explorer passed through its tail in September 1985.

Image Credit & Copyright: Juan Carlos Casado (TWAN, Earth and Stars)

In the center of the dust is the Iris Nebula whose blue comes from the reflection of light from a bright star of a dense patch of dust. It's about 1300 light years away in the constellation Cepheus (the King)

Image Credit & Copyright: Franco Sgueglia & Francesco Sferlazza