Tadpoles Nebula
Feb 18, 2022
Tadpoles Nebula
| Other names | IC 410 |
| Type | Emissions Nebula |
| Distance | 12,000 ly |
| Size | 100 ly |
| Location | Auriga |
| Captured | Feb 18, 2022 |
| Capture type | Narrowband (SHO) |
| Total time | 5.5 hours |
| Frames | SHO 11x600' each |
| Telescope | Orion 6" Newt F/3.8 Astrograph |
| Camera | ZWO ASI294mm |
| Tripod | Orion Atlas EQ-G |
Tadpoles Nebula
Had a clear weekend and got a chance to setup the telescope. This is the tadpole nebula, or IC 410.
The tadpole nebula is nearby, only around 12,000 light-years away and is a very young stellar nursery. The region is undergoing intense star formation, but the oldest stars in it are just babies, being only around 4 million years old. In comparison, the last image I posted was a galaxy who’s light has traveled over three times the length of time this nebula has been around.
You can see two structures in this nebula, it’s tadpoles. These are areas where stars will probably be formed soon (in astronomical terms). They’re around 10 lightyears in length, they look tiny, but they’re huge!
If you google this image you might find it has different colors. That’s because this image is shot in narrowband and colors are assigned to certain elemental emissions spectrum. In reality it’s mostly red, but we astronomers get to play with the colors how we like. This is presented in the traditional “Hubble palette” which is how Hubble images are processed.