Cosmic Flames in the night: IC 405 The Flaming Star Nebula!IC 405 (aka Caldwell 31) shows a nebula located in the constellation Chariot (Auriga), about 1500 lightyears from Earth. But what makes it really interesting is its story!The bright blue star in the middle of the fog, AE Aurigae, was not born in the fog. This is a so-called "runaway star" (runaway star), which travels through the cloud of gas and dust at a high speed of about 200 km/second. AE Aurigae ejected from Orion Nebula about 2–2.5 million years ago as a result of a close gravitational encounter or collision with a stellar system. It has been running in space ever since and now it passes through this area, lighting it up like a huge cosmic torch. The red areas are an emission from ionized hydrogen gas caused by the ultraviolet radiation of the star. The blue parts are a reflection of the blue starlight reflected from the dust clouds. This is a dynamic passing moment in space. In a few million years the star will move on and the fog will darken again.
Cosmic Flames in the night: IC 405 The Flaming Star Nebula!IC 405 (aka Caldwell 31) shows a nebula located in the constellation Chariot (Auriga), about 1500 lightyears from Earth. But what makes it really interesting is its story!The bright blue star in the middle of the fog, AE Aurigae, was not born in the fog. This is a so-called "runaway star" (runaway star), which travels through the cloud of gas and dust at a high speed of about 200 km/second. AE Aurigae ejected from Orion Nebula about 2–2.5 million years ago as a result of a close gravitational encounter or collision with a stellar system. It has been running in space ever since and now it passes through this area, lighting it up like a huge cosmic torch. The red areas are an emission from ionized hydrogen gas caused by the ultraviolet radiation of the star. The blue parts are a reflection of the blue starlight reflected from the dust clouds. This is a dynamic passing moment in space. In a few million years the star will move on and the fog will darken again.