Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Auriga (Aur)  ·  Contains:  16 Aur  ·  17 AR Aur  ·  18 Aur  ·  19 Aur  ·  24 Aur  ·  24 phi Aur  ·  AE Aur  ·  Flaming Star Nebula  ·  HD241449  ·  HD241460  ·  HD241476  ·  HD241504  ·  HD241505  ·  HD241521  ·  HD241535  ·  HD241565  ·  HD241611  ·  HD241635  ·  HD241649  ·  HD241683  ·  HD241698  ·  HD241699  ·  HD241714  ·  HD241731  ·  HD241746  ·  HD241763  ·  HD241764  ·  HD241779  ·  HD241822  ·  HD241843  ·  And 347 more.
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Auriga's Treasure Chest in 170+ Hour Mosaic, Doug Lozen
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Auriga's Treasure Chest in 170+ Hour Mosaic

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Auriga's Treasure Chest in 170+ Hour Mosaic, Doug Lozen
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Auriga's Treasure Chest in 170+ Hour Mosaic

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Description

Embedded in the rich winter Milky Way of Auriga the Charioteer is a treasure trove of objects for modern cameras and filters.

The region of nebulosity at top center is known as IC 410, glowing from the embedded star cluster NGC 1893.  The radiation from these stars is also responsible for the so called "Tadpoles", which seemingly are swimming toward the dark clouds hovering over the bright areas of the nebula.

The knotty glow at lower left, aka the Flaming Star Nebula, is the result of runaway star AE Aurigae, plowing through the interstellar medium at more than 60 miles per second.  It is believed that AE Aurigae originated in the Orion Nebula.

Two objects of lesser distinction, but nevertheless interesting in their own right, are the Spider and Fly at the right hand side of this image.  Both lie approximately 10,000 light years distant, with light of the Spider Nebula (IC 417) glowing from embedded stars, akin to IC 410.  The small, but bright Fly Nebula (NGC 1931) is a combination emission/reflection nebula, much like a mini Orion Nebula.

This four frame mosaic was captured over many months, starting in early 2023 from my backyard in Fort Myers, FL using a 4" apochromatic refractor, CMOS imaging camera, and 3nm filters.

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