IC 405

[Hughsie]

Flaming Star Nebula

 The Flaming Star Nebula is an emission/reflection nebula and HII region ionised by the variable star AE Aurigae. It is also known as IC405, Sh2-229 and Caldwell 31. It is some 1,500 light years distant and is about 5 light years across. Research suggests that AE Aurigae is a runaway star and its proper motion can be traced back to the region of Orion’s Belt. Some 2.5 million years ago AE Aurigae and another star, Mu Columbae had an encounter with one another in the Great Orion Nebula which was so close that both stars were ejected from the region.

This objected is located within the northern constellation, Auriga and as the star passes through this gaseous region it gives the impression that the star is burning.

 

Data

Presented in the Hubble Palette, the following data was acquired across the nights of the 12^th and 13^thJanuary 2022.

Sii – 38 sub frames

Ha – 61 sub frames

Oiii – 45 sub frames

Exposure time 300s. Total exposure time of 12 hours. Camera Gain 139, Offset 30 and Sensor temperature was -10c.  50 darks, 25 flats and 25 dark flats were used to calibrate the data.

 

Equipment

William Optics Z103 refractor.

ZWO ASI1600mm Pro Cooled camera. 

SkyWatcher EQ6R-Pro mount.

Chroma 1.25” 3nm narrowband filters.

 

Software

Sequence Generator Pro for session management.

PHD2 for guiding.

PixInsight used for processing the image.

 

Final Images

I have presented this object today in three formats;

·      IC 405 with star field.

·      IC 405 in a starless field.

·      IC 405 and AE Aurigae (the star of the show) in a, well, one star field!

As usual an annotated image is included to show other points of interest in the field of view.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Hughsie