Astrophotographer Greg Meyer has unveiled a breathtaking portrait of the Flaming Star Nebula, where the brilliant blue star AE Aurigae sets interstellar clouds ablaze 1,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Auriga.
This magnificent display, appearing like celestial fire, was captured under the pristine dark skies of Arizona using Meyer’s Radian Raptor 61 mm telescope and specialized astronomy filters. The result is an image that seems to ignite the heavens themselves.
By capturing the fiery beauty of AE Aurigae, a talented astrophotographer reminds us how alive our universe truly is.
The Flaming Star Nebula—also known as IC 405—is not truly burning. Its spectacular colors are the result of energetic radiation from AE Aurigae, a massive runaway star zooming through space at an astonishing 200 kilometers per second. This radiation bombards nearby clouds of hydrogen gas, stripping away electrons and causing the gas to emit light, glowing red and blue as if engulfed in fire.
Scientists believe AE Aurigae began its cosmic journey roughly 2.5 million years ago near the Orion Nebula (M42), where a close gravitational encounter between massive stars may have hurled it through the galaxy. The same event may have sent another star, Mu Columbae, hurtling in the opposite direction. Now, AE Aurigae races onward, lighting up the space around it as it passes through vast interstellar material.
Flaming Star Nebula: Journey of a Runaway Star
In Meyer’s image, this “flaming” effect dominates the top portion. At the same time, below lies the Tadpole Nebula (IC 410)—a serene cosmic pool populated by two elongated, gold-colored dust-and-gas trails shaped by the winds of nearby young stars. The combination of these celestial features creates a mesmerizing deep-space tableau spanning light-years.
