A Flaming Star, a Couple of Tadpoles, a Spider, a Fly, a Starfish, and a Gripping Hand Walk Into a Bar

Image Description and Details : The bartender asks, "Why the weird face?"

This bizarre collection of objects in the Auriga constellation looks like the face of the alien Xenu to me. But when I first discovered that this framing was possible, I really liked it.

In the upper left, the big orange thing is IC 405, the Flaming Star nebula. Just to its right, the blue-purple thing is IC 410, the Tadpoles (you can see the two small cometary globules that give it its name). Directly below the tadpoles, the small orange spot is IC 417, the Spider Nebula. Below and to the right of the Spider is NGC 1931, the Fly. And I've personally dubbed the red object to their left "The Gripping Hand" after the sequel to Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's incomparable SF novel The Mote in God's Eye (the sequel was far less engaging). The open cluster of stars near bottom center is Messier 38, the Starfish Cluster.

Deceptively, the Flaming Star is only 1,500 light years away, but the Tadpoles are 12,000 light years away. M38 is about 3,500 light years away and the Spider is about 10,000 light years distant. These disparate distances account for the varied chemical compositions and hence the colors they produce.

Details: William Optics ZenithStar 61 refractor; iOptron CEM25-EC mount; ZWO ASI6200MM camera; Antlia 3nm narrowband filters for the nebula and Antlia RGB filters for the stars; Bortle 8; 29.5 hours integration time.

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