Waid Observatory

Object: IC405 - The Flaming Star Nebula

Date: Feb. 9,10,11, 2021   -   Location: Davis Mountains west of Fort Davis, TX
Telescope: 100mm F:5 Televue Genesis   -   Mount: Paramont MYT   -   Camera: ST-8300M
Exposure: L = 180 min. Bin 1x1 - R, G,& B = 120m each Bin 2x2

Click on the image below to view at higher resolution.

 

IC 405

 

IC405 - The Flaming Star Nebula1,2

IC 405 is commonly known as the Flaming Star nebula.  It is a combination emission and reflection nebula.  It is also catalogued as Sharpless 2-229 and Caldwell 31.  This impressive object is approximately 1,500 lightyears from the Earth located in the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer.  The bright blue star near the center of the image is AE Aurigae.  This star is a very hot O-type star and its intense radiation is the source illuminating the surrounding nebular structure.  The star AE Airogae is a rare runaway star that is traveling at a very high speed through IC 405.  It has been determined to be 1 of 3 stars violently ejected from a multiple star system near the belt stars in the Orion Nebula approximately 2.5 to 2.7 million years ago.  The violent event that is responsible for ejecting these stars is not known.  It is speculated that possibly it could have been a supernova explosion or an encounter between two massive binary star systems.

1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_405
2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AE_Aurigae

 
Copyright Donald P. Waid