IC 410 AND NGC 1893

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Date
2012/02/24

Observation place
French alps

Technical

TelescopeTMB Fluorite Triplet - Diam. 175 mm (7 ″), foca. 1400mm, f / 8 
MountParamount ME
Imaging cameraSBIG STL 11K AO-L regulated at -20o Celsius
Image typeHa (RGB)
ExhibitionHa (11 x 7,5 'bin 2 × 2), RGB (4 x 3' bin 3 × 3 each)
PretreatmentMaxim DL
TreatmentPhotoshop and PixInsight

Object description

Object typeEmission nebula and open cluster 
ConstellationCheck
Visual magnitude+10
Distance12000 light years
Diameter100 light years
Dimension seen from Earth40 x 30 arc minutes
IC410 is an emission nebula located 12000 light-years from Earth. It contains in its heart the open cluster NGC 1893. It is a dark nebula composed of a cloud of hydrogen. She looks like a rose. Here, the use of a Hydrogen Alpha filter as the luminance image is quite appropriate to bring out all the nuances of this superb nebula.    

The cloud is lit by stellar winds and radiation emitted from the open star cluster that formed in the interstellar cloud just 4 million years ago (compare to the age of the universe which is 13,6 billion years old)! The exposure time of nearly 2 hours of this wide-field image as well as a sky without light pollution, made it possible to detail the dark dust which surrounds the nebula, especially in the bottom and the right side of the image.  

We also see appearing to the right of the center of the nebula and slightly downwards two cosmic "tadpoles" measuring 10 light years long. They are made up of cooler, denser gas and dust. Their particular shape is sculpted by the winds and the radiations of the stars of the cluster. As seen in the image, their trail points away from the central region of the cluster. This a region conducive to the formation of new stars.
Richard Beauregard
Sky Astro - CCD
My impression "We cannot be alone in this gigantic universe"