Nebula Flaming Star & Tadpoles IC 405 & IC 410

The Flaming Star Nebula and Tadpoles Nebula are two large emission nebulae located in the constellation Auriga. The Tadpoles Nebula got its name because of the elongated clouds of dust that look like tadpoles swimming towards the center of the object (somewhat hard to see in my image). These are active star-forming regions that give birth to new stars over time. Most of the gases in the nebula are lit by the bright open cluster of stars NGC 1893. The Tadpoles Nebula spans 100 light-years across. Both IC 405 and IC 410 appear to lie very close to one another.  The Flaming Star Nebula, which appears more massive than the Tadpoles Nebula, has a diameter of five light-years. On the other hand, the Tadpoles Nebula, which looks much smaller in our image, is 100 light-years accross. This is because both nebulae are not as close to one another as they seem to be. The Tadpoles Nebula is much, much farther from Earth (12,000 light-years away) than the Flaming Star Nebula is (1,500 light-years away). Although they appear next to each other when photographed, the two objects are very distanced in space.

The hydrogen emission gas makes up the “flame” of IC 405, while the blue reflection nebula resembles smoke. The rippling dust and gas lanes of red and blue are what give the Flaming Star Nebula its name. The intensely bright star AE Aurigae is so hot that it is blue, and emits energetic light that knocks electrons away from the surrounding gas. IC 405 is an emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga.

Taken in my back garden, Bortal 7, no guiding.

Gear used: Radian Raptor 61 refractor telescope
SkyGuider Pro, Radian Mount, ZWOASI2600MC, Optolong Dual-Band L-eXtreme Filter
Apps used: Sharpcap, Astro Pixel Processor
Image specifications: Chip temperature: -15°C 120 subs x 60 seconds. g/250 Plus dark and light frame