The Caldwell Objects

31
3 1
Flaming Star Nebula
IC 405
Type: Reflection and Emission Nebula
Con: Auriga
RA: 05 h 16.2 m
Dec: +34° 16'
Mag: ~6 (var.), star; 9.2, nebula (O'Meara)
Dim: 30' x 20'
Dist: ~1,600 light-years
Disc: John M. Schaeberle, 1892
ON SOME UNKNOWN DATE ROUGHLY 2.5 MILLION
years ago, when early members of the genus
Homo roamed the East African savanna, an
unusual drama was unfolding in the heavens.
The action began in a dense nest of newborn suns
now known as the Trapezium star cluster
122
H ERSCHEL: None.
GC: None.
IC: Magnitude 6.7 star with pretty bright, very large
nebulosity.
at the heart of the great Orion Nebula. There, a
close encounter of two binary-star systems, each
tightly bound, took place, and two of the four
stars were flung away at high speeds while the
remaining two settled down into a new orbit
around one another. In time the two "run-
Deep-Sky Companions: The Caldwell Objects