Target Fun Facts
IC 405 Flaming Star Nebula is an emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga north of the celestial equator, surrounding the bluish, irregular variable star AE Aurigae. It shines at magnitude +6.0. The nebula measures approximately 37.0′ x 19.0′ (about 5 light-years across) and lies about 1,500 light-years away from Earth. It is believed that the proper motion of the central star can be traced back to the Orion’s Belt area.
Other Catalog Designations: IC405, SH 2-229, Caldwell 31
Subtype: Emission Nebula
Distance from Earth: 1500 light years
Visual Magnitude: 6.0
Constellation: Auriga
{ Target information from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_405 }
Capture Notes
This image, captured at Mills Canyon, Kiowa National Grasslands, 4 November 2021 (early in my astrophotography experience – taken June 2021 when I finally got things figured out with the Canon EOS Ra and control software), shows the value of dark skies. The other images on this page were captured from Bortle 6 Colorado Springs. In dark skies, I used less than half the total exposure time (3:24hrs vs. 7:50hrs, 3min vs. 5min exposures, ISO800 vs. ISO3200) to produce a much more richly colored image (with very nascent processing skills!).
Equipment
Polar alignment: QHYCCD camera (controlled by Polemaster)
Imaging stream: Orion 8″ f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph Telescope, Canon EOS Ra
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Equatorial Mount (controlled by EQMOD)
Autoguider: Orion 60mm Multi-Use Guide Scope, Orion StarShoot AutoGuider Pro Mono Astrophotography Camera (controlled by PHD2)
All equipment controlled by HP Probook running Sequence Generator Pro v3.2.0.660.
Capture & Processing Notes:
Sequence Plan: ISO800; 68x180sec. Total exposure time: 3:24hrs. Captured 5Nov2021, 0016 – 0353MST.
Captured: 5 November 2021
Shooting Location: Mills Canyon, Kiowa National Grasslands, New Mexico
Other images of the same object
Capture Notes
This image was captured from the Bortle 6 skies of Colorado Springs on a surprise clear night, in the middle of a (past and future) period with no hopes of seeing them, popped into the forecast after dinner….verified with a look outside – yeah, clear skies! It was forecast to be clear from that point until about 0100MST. Given the lack of clear skies in the last couple of months and the forecast for none in the near future, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity. So, I quickly wheeled Big Zeus out onto the patio and built an SGP sequence for RaBZ using the field flattener and LeXtreme filter against the 76.5% waning gibbous moon. By 1900, I had the sequence going. It turned out they also had the “clouds rolling in” forecast wrong – it was clear all night! So I was able to image until the target set behind the SE corner of the roof, as about 0315…just in time to take my calibration frames and get things picked up and rolled inside before leaving for my run with Susie and Danielle.
Equipment
Polar alignment: QHYCCD camera (controlled by Polemaster)
Imaging stream: Orion 10″ f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph Telescope, Canon EOS Ra with with Teleskop Service Flattener 1.0x for RC Telescopes (TS-RCFLAT2) and Optolong L-Extreme LP filter
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Equatorial Mount (controlled by EQMOD)
Autoguider: Orion 60mm Multi-Use Guide Scope, Orion StarShoot AutoGuider Pro Mono Astrophotography Camera (controlled by PHD2)
All equipment controlled by HP Probook running Sequence Generator Pro v3.2.0.660.
Sequence Plan
ISO3200; 94x300sec. Total exposure time: 7:50hrs. Captured 12Jan2023, 1900MST – 13Jan2023, 0317MST.
Capture Notes
Not being able to leave well enough alone, I decided to process the 10% stretched stack, to see if the final version would be less noisy. My thoughts on the result – some of the fainter nebulosity is lost, but the increase in clarity allows more of the details in the heart of the nebula.
Equipment
Polar alignment: QHYCCD camera (controlled by Polemaster)
Imaging stream: Orion 10″ f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph Telescope, Canon EOS Ra with with Teleskop Service Flattener 1.0x for RC Telescopes (TS-RCFLAT2) and Optolong L-Extreme LP filter
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Equatorial Mount (controlled by EQMOD)
Autoguider: Orion 60mm Multi-Use Guide Scope, Orion StarShoot AutoGuider Pro Mono Astrophotography Camera (controlled by PHD2)
All equipment controlled by HP Probook running Sequence Generator Pro v3.2.0.660.
Sequence Plan
ISO3200; 94x300sec. Total exposure time: 7:50hrs. Captured 12Jan2023, 1900MST – 13Jan2023, 0317MST.