Flaming Star Nebula

About the object

The Flaming Star Nebula in Auriga. It is lit by the hot star AE Aurigae, which was not born here at all: it was ejected from the Orion Nebula about two million years ago and is now passing through a chance cloud of gas. The cloud shines in two ways: the red glow of hydrogen excited by the star and blue reflected light. Hence the image of flames in photographs.

Distance: about 1,500 light-years, apparent size in the sky: 37′ × 19′, constellation Auriga.

How it was shot

Everything here was shot with a DWARF Mini smart telescope from a balcony in a city in Ukraine: light-polluted sky, only the eastern half of it visible, and a roof overhang that cuts off the south. 3 nights (all in September), 3 sessions, 265 frames with exposures of 60 and 180 s, a dual-band Hα/OIII filter that passes only the glow of hydrogen and oxygen and blocks most of the city light pollution. The stack holds 5 h 19 min of light; the longest night, 24 September, gave 1 h 49 min. The goal for this object is 4 h, and it is reached. First night 11 September 2026, last one 25 September 2026.

Flaming Star Nebula in the night log: 10 September, 12 September, 24 September.

How it went

This is the object where re-stacking paid off for the first time: three nights with different exposures, 180 and 60 seconds, stacked separately by the telescope, then all frames stacked together again in the cloud for more than five hours of light and a noticeably cleaner background. The flames around the star came out; the blue reflection part stayed weak in the city sky. The target is closed in the challenge.