Description:
Sh2-174, also known as the Valentine Nebula, is a faint planetary nebula in Cepheus, about 1,000 light-years away. Its central star, the white dwarf GD 561, is moving through the interstellar medium, causing the nebula’s once-round shape to distort into a soft heart-like form.
The nebula shows a red Hα shell wrapped around a blue OIII interior, with delicate filaments and a bow-shock structure where it interacts with denser gas. Sh2-174 is a rare example of a planetary nebula in its final stage, slowly dispersing as it merges into the surrounding Inter Stellar Medium.