The Flaming Star Nebula is part of a dust cloud illuminated by the "runaway" star AE Aurigae.  This bright star is a transient visitor to this region and is thought to be ejected from the Orion Nebula by the collision of two binary star groups.  Ultraviolet radiation from the star ionizes and excites hydrogen gas and causes the gas cloud to glow red.  A region closer to the star shines blue, due to dust reflecting the starlight resulting in a colorful composite of both emission and reflection nebula.  

IMAGE DETAILS:

• Date & Location:  January 11th & 13th, 2010 - Bernville, PA

• Weather:  Calm wind, 22 to 27F.

• Sky Conditions:  Clear with average transparency. 

• Optics:  TeleVue NP101is 4" Refractor with TV Reducer (0.8x 432mm @f4.3).

• Filter:  Astronomic EOS clip in LPS (Light Pollution Suppression)

• Mount:  Losmandy G-11 equatorial with Gemini V4

• Guiding:  Orion Solitaire w/TeleVue NP101is

• Camera:  Canon T1i (500D) Hap Griffin Modified - Baader UV/IR

• Exposure:  51 min (3 x 5 min, 2 x 6 min, 1 x 8 min) @ ISO 800, RAW

• Calibration Frames:  No Dark Frame Subtraction

• Processing:  Photoshop CS4, Noise Ninja, NIK 

• Comments:  This is a crop image detailing the Flaming Star region.  Although auto-guided, some minor tracking errors resulted in less than pinpoint stars.