Stock DSLR - The Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405), Tree

Stock DSLR - The Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405)

Stock DSLR - The Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405), Tree

Stock DSLR - The Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405)

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Description

IC 405, the Flaming Star nebula in Auriga. This hydrogen-rich region of the sky is in the main band of the Milky Way, along the portion that can be seen during the Winter. This deep-sky object has both an emission nebula and reflection nebula in the same frame - the grey spots near the bright central star are vast patches of dust that we can see only because of the starlight they reflect. Overall, this nebula is among the most dynamic and interesting in the entire night sky!

This image was shot with a stock (unmodified) dslr camera, diminishing the red Hα signal and making processing a challenge. One particular processing technique that especially brought the signal out was using a selective color adjustment to lower the "blacks" slider the red channel, and then adding saturation back in. What this does is amplify all the red pixels (in this case, the ones with the signal from the nebula) without adjusting the backround, revealing much more nebulosity while only minimally affecting noise levels.

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Stock DSLR - The Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405), Tree