This image is a collection of data captured over 2 seasons using a QHY600M Monochrome CMOS from Grand Mesa Observatory's system 1 the Takahashi FSQ 130 (available on our subscriptions) Captured over a total of 13 nights in October 2020 and February 2022, this final rendering comprises of 1,706 individual frames for a total acquisition time of over 48 hours.
The Flaming Star Nebula also known as IC405 and Caldwell 31, lying at a distance of approximately 1500 light years from us in the constellation Auriga this object is a combination of emission and reflection Nebulae. Visible towards the bottom left in this image is IC410/Sharpless 236 otherwise known as The Tadpoles lying at a much further distance of 12,000 light years, this faint Emission Nebula is energized by the neighboring Star Cluster NGC1893.
In this Hubble Palette version the H-Alpha is mapped to green, SII is mapped to red and OIII is mapped to the blue channel. Stars were removed using StarXTerminator then I used the naturally colored stars from the broadband image. While the colors in this image are not the true colors, the narrowband filters used in the making of this Hubble Palette image reveal much more of the hidden gasses not visible in a broadband image.Technical Details
Captured and processed by: Terry Hancock
Location: GrandMesaObservatory.com Purdy Mesa, Colorado
Dates of Capture
2020 October 11, 12, 13, 14, 22,
2022 February 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 17, 18
BIN 1x1 October 2020
HA 31x600         310
OIII 31x600        310
SII 29x600          290
RED 31x300       155
GREEN 34x300  170
BLU 28x300       140
 Total    1375 mins = 22.91 hoursBIN 2x2 February 2022
RED 48x120          96
GREEN 44x120     88
BLUE 44x120        88
HA 90x300           450
OIII 82x300          410
SII 78x300            390
 Total    1522 mins = 25.36 hours
Narrowband Filters by Chroma "5nm"
Camera: QHY600M 60 megapíxel Monochrome CMOS camera.
Gain 26 Offset 76 with Dark and Flat Frames
Optics: Walter Holloway's Takahashi FSQ 130 APO Refractor @ F5  
Mount: Paramount ME
Image Acquisition software Maxim DL6 Pre Processing in Pixinsight Post Processed in Photoshop CC