In the depths of Auriga, two dusty tadpoles race through a gaseous pond, trapped by a blazing field of ionized sulfur and hydrogen. The Flaming Star Nebula (right) and Tadpole Nebula (left) are emission nebulae 1500-12000 light-years away. Open cluster NGC 1893 has sculpted the Tadpole Nebula into the cosmic pond we see today, while AE Aurigae has carved the ridges of the Flaming Star. I decided to remove the stars (using Russ Croman’s StarXTerminator) in order to emphasize the finest structures and nebulosity.
Acquisition Date: November 19-22, 2022
Acquisition Site: San Carlos, CA
Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-106EDXIII, QHY600M-PH, Astro-Physics 900GTO, Chroma 3nm SHO filters, QHYCFW-L, QHYOAG-M
Subframes: Ha 61 x 300s, Oiii 61 x 300s, Sii 61 x 300s, 20 gain, 1×1 binning, 15 hours 15 minutes total
Software: PixInsight, Apple Photos, Sequence Generator Pro, PHD2, APCC Pro