Tadpoles Nebula

About the object

The Tadpoles Nebula in Auriga, a cloud of glowing hydrogen around the young cluster NGC 1893. The name comes from two dense knots of gas and dust with tails that the cluster's radiation blows away from the stars: in photographs they really do look like tadpoles swimming towards the centre. Each is about ten light-years long, and stars are forming inside them.

Distance: about 12,000 light-years, apparent size in the sky: ≈ 40′, 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. 5 nights (all in October), 5 sessions, 367 frames with exposures of 60 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 57 min of light; the longest night, 4 October, gave 1 h 41 min. The goal for this object is 4 h, and it is reached. First night 3 October 2026, last one 9 October 2026.

Tadpoles Nebula in the night log: 2 October, 4 October, 5 October, 6 October, 8 October.

How it went

The first session was a test of whether nebulae can be shot under a 55 percent Moon only a dozen degrees from the target. Dual-band held up: the background got brighter, but the Tadpoles came through. Four more nights at 60 seconds followed, and all five were combined into one stack in the cloud. The tails of both tadpoles are visible; the object is closed in the challenge.