Discovered in 1787 by William Herschel
        the Heart Nebula – a mere 7500 light years
away from Earth – can be found
        in the Cassiopeia constellation
in the Perseus Arm
        of the Milky Way

An emission nebula
        it owes its intense red glow
to ionised hydrogen gas
        emanating from a small group
of stars near the nebula’s core
        Observe how opaque lanes
of interstellar dust create
        a heart-shaped silhouette

Dark dust lanes and dim stars
        laws of entropy and attraction
and all the artists harvesting light
        and love in our twilight world

John Lyons