#ic405

A nearby nebula illuminated by a runaway star

The Flaming Star Nebula is a nearby interstellar dust cloud illuminated by a star that is hurtling through our region of the galaxy. The star at the centre, AE Aurigae, is a “Runaway Star” that was ejected from the intense Trapezium area of the Orion Nebula when several binary stars collided two million years ago.

This visiting star now brightly illuminates the centre of the nebula, but its arrival created a shock wave that thrusted the gas and dust in a sweeping arc, visible across the bottom of the image.

The brightly illuminated area is only about 5 light years in diameter, certainly very small on a galactic scale. However, it is 1,000 times larger than our entire solar system.

I photographed the Flaming Star Nebula from my garden in Strasbourg France on two evening in March 2026. This final image was built from 140 photos, where each was a 3 minute exposure (7 hours of photography).

Equipment used to capture images:

Telescope: Redcat51

Computer: ASIAIR

Mount: AM5

Filter: Optolong L-Enhance

Camera: ASI183MC-PRO

Processing Software:

Pixinsight + WBPP + MAS

Blur Exterminator

Noise Exterminator

Star Exterminator 

AE Aurigae

AE Aurigae is a bright star located within the Flaming Star Nebula, IC 405. The nebula is located about 1,500 light years away towards the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer. It is about 5 light years across.

AE Aurigae emits strong enough light to strip electrons from nearby atoms. When the electrons recombine with their protons, they emit light in the color characteristic of their element and create a bright emission nebula. The nebula also contains clouds of hydrogen gas laced with thick carbon dust.

The Flaming Star Nebula is lit by the nearby AE Aurigae in the constellation Auriga. Cataloged as IC 405, this glowing emission and reflection nebula lies approximately 1,500 light-years from Earth. 

The Flaming Star Nebula is bright enough to be observed and photographed through a small telescope under the right conditions. IC 405 is an exquisite astrophotography target due to its unique composition and combination of colors.

From mid-northern latitudes, the best time to observe and photograph the Flaming Star Nebula is in the late fall or early winter. It is one of the brightest nebulae in the night sky. 

The hydrogen emission gas makes up the “flame” of IC 405, while the blue reflection nebula resembles smoke. The Flaming Star Nebula spans about 5 light-years across, with an apparent visual magnitude of +6.

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.

The Flaming Star Nebula

Nebula type: Emission/Reflection Nebula

Distance: 1,500 light-years

Apparent Magnitude: +6

Constellation: Auriga

Designations: IC 405, Caldwell 31, Sharpless 229

Apparent Dimensions (V): 37′ x 10′

The constellation Auriga has many interesting deep-sky objects within it, including NGC 1664, NGC 1857, NGC 1893, IC 405, IC 410, IC 417, M37, M38, and Sh2-232. The brightest star in Auriga is Capella, which is often used as an alignment star for equatorial telescope mounts.