IC 405 - the Flaming Star Nebula
Wavy dust and gas lanes give the Flaming Star Nebula in the constellation of Auriga its name. The red and violet colors of the nebula are present in different regions and are produced by different processes. The bright star AE Aurigae, visible towards the right image, is so hot that it is blue and emits light so rich in energy that it repels electrons from the surrounding gas. When a proton catches an electron again, red light is often emitted. The color of the purple region is a mixture of this red light and blue light emitted by AE Aurigae but reflected by surrounding dust. The two regions are called emission nebulae or reflection nebulae. The Flaming Star Nebula, officially known as IC 405, is about 1,500 light years away, spans about 5 light years and is visible to the constellation Auriga with a small telescope.

IC 410 - the Tadpole Nebula

The left part of the picture shows the weak emission nebula IC 410 and the two remarkable "inhabitants" of the cosmic gas and dust pond, the tadpoles of IC 410. The nebula itself surrounds NGC 1893, a young galactic cluster of stars. Created only 4 million years ago in the interstellar cloud, the intensely hot, bright cluster stars stimulate the glowing gas. The tadpoles consist of denser, cooler gas and dust, are about 10 light years long and probably represent places of permanent star formation. Their heads are shaped by the wind and radiation of the star cluster and are outlined by bright, ionized gas ridges, while their tails run away from the central region of the cluster.