The Tadpoles Nebula: IC 410 | Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope

The Tadpoles Nebula: IC 410 | Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope

IC 410 is a dusty emission nebula located in the constellation of Auriga around 12,000 light years from Earth. It is part of a larger star forming region that also contains the Flaming Star Nebula. The gas structures in this picture are lit by the radiation from the open star cluster NGC1893 that lies in the center of the nebula. This star cluster is about 4 million years old, but in astronomical terms it is still very young, with hot, massive stars. At the center of the star cluster, two dense structures are visible. These are similar to the famous Pillar of Creation and they are composed of dust and gas leftover from the formation of the star cluster and are very likely to give birth to more stars in the future. As can be seen in the picture, these structures point away from the center of the nebula. This is because of the stellar winds and radiation pressure from the stars in NGC 1893. Due to these structure's shape, the nebula is also called the Tadpoles Nebula.

Credit & Copyright © 2022: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT)/Coelum

Caption Credit: Sky & Telescope magazine

Image by Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT) & Giovanni Anselmi (Coelum)

Release Date: Aug. 2022

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