SH2-229, also known as the Flaming Star Nebula or IC 405 is an emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga. What makes this nebula unique is the star illuminating it, AE Aurigae. This is a massive O-type blue star, roughly 30,000 times more luminous than our Sun. But here’s the fascinating part: AE Aurigae wasn’t born here. It’s a runaway star. Astronomers believe it was ejected from the Orion Nebula region about 2 million years ago during a collision of two binary star groups. It is currently just passing through this cold cloud of gas by chance. Its intense ultraviolet radiation is ionizing the hydrogen gas, creating the red emission glow we see in Hydrogen-Alpha, while the blue regions are reflection nebula, starlight bouncing off interstellar dust. Once AE Aurigae moves on, this nebula will fade back into darkness.
The nebula is located about 1 500 light-years away from Earth.
Data for this image was gathered from 6 sessions between 2025-11-13 and 2025-12-17.
Data for this image: 75x300s S-II, 76x300s Ha, 76x300s O-III.
Total number of exposures 227 with a total integration time of 19 hours.
Processing: PixInsight with SHO palette with synthetic RGB stars.
Equipment: SkyWatcher EvoStar 80ED Pro (0,85x FR/FF) and Player One Poseidon-M Pro on SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro with SkyWatcher EvoGuide 50ED and ZWO ASI120MM Mini. Player One SII, Ha, and OIII filters. Location: 63 degrees north with a bortle 4 sky.