ScienceDownEast | ScienceDownEast Astrophotography | Recent Images | IC 405 (Flaming Star Nebula)

IC 405 (Flaming Star Nebula)
Click on the image to view it at full resolution, then click again for actual size.

IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula, is a mixed emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga, surrounding the bright, irregular variable star AE Aurigae. AE Aurigae is a runaway star, thought to have been ejected from the Orion Nebula around two million years ago via a close encounter with other massive stars, and it is now passing through and illuminating this unrelated cloud of gas and dust. The nebula lies roughly 1,300-1,800 light-years away and spans about 5 light-years. Its name comes from the flame-like tendrils of glowing gas and dust visible in long exposures. Both emission (red, Hα-rich) and reflection (blue) components are present, making it a good target for combined broadband/narrowband processing. It sits near the similarly colorful IC 410 (Tadpoles Nebula), making the two a popular wide-field pairing.

[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_405]

Moon PhaseWaxing Crescent
CameraSeestar S30 Pro (4K Sony IMX585 sensor)
Optics160 mm focal length, f/5.3, 30 mm aperture (APO quadruplet)
Date2026-02-19
PixInsight Processing
Drizzle Integration (x2)
Fast Integration (x2)
Background Neutralization
Automatic Background Extraction
Dynamic Background Extraction
Spectrophotometric Color Calibration
NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise)
Multiscale Adaptive Stretch



Tags:
Gallery RSS RSS Feed | Archive View | Powered by Zenphoto Related videos at ScienceDownEast on Vimeo and more content at ScienceDownEast. 30 views | @Jerry Black.