Pictures of the Tadpole Nebula

Images of the Tadpole Nebula, IC 410, and facts about this star-forming region.

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Published: June 24, 2021 at 6:00 pm

IC 410 is located 12,000 lightyears from Earth in the Auriga constellation, and is nicknamed the Tadpole Nebula because of the tadpole-shaped clouds of dark dust that appear to be swimming towards the centre.

The Tadpole Nebula is a region of ionised hydrogen gas spanning over 100 lightyears across that's carved and sculpted by streams of charged particles called stellar winds emanating from open star cluster NGC 1893.

NGC 1893 is about 4 million years old: the blink of an eye in cosmic terms.

The 'tadpoles' that give the nebula its nickname are dense streams of dust and gas about 10 lightyears long that may well be sites of star formation.

Below is a selection of images of IC 410, the Tadpole Nebula, captured by astrophotographers and BBC Sky at Night Magazine readers.

For help with photographing nebulae, read our guide to deep-sky astrophotography and our tutorial on deep-sky image processing.

And don't forget to send us your images or share them with us via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Tadpole Nebula by Andy Jensen, Battisford, Suffolk, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher 120mm ED Refactor, Atik 383l CCD, 7nm Ha Filter, NEQ 6 Mount
Tadpole Nebula by Andy Jensen, Battisford, Suffolk, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher 120mm ED Refactor, Atik 383l CCD, 7nm Ha Filter, NEQ 6 Mount
IC410 by Roger B, Whitstable, UK. Equipment: GSO 8
IC410 by Roger B, Whitstable, UK. Equipment: GSO 8" f4 Astrograph, EQ6 via EQMod, SXVH9, Baader 7nm Ha filter, Ts9mm OAG
IC 410 Tadpoles by Ian Russell, Sutton Courtenay, UK. Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-85ED, TS90APO, Atik 460 ex mono, Baader 2
IC 410 Tadpoles by Ian Russell, Sutton Courtenay, UK. Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-85ED, TS90APO, Atik 460 ex mono, Baader 2" filters,Atik OAG, IMG0H, PHD, Celestron CG-5GT
IC410 Tadpole Nebula by Steve Wilson, Middlesbrough, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher ED80, Atik 314l , Xagyl 5-filter wheel with Astronomik 7nm Ha and Baader RGB filters
IC410 Tadpole Nebula by Steve Wilson, Middlesbrough, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher ED80, Atik 314l , Xagyl 5-filter wheel with Astronomik 7nm Ha and Baader RGB filters
IC410 Tadpole Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: GSO 8
IC410 Tadpole Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: GSO 8" Richey-Chretien Optical tube, Skywatcher NEQ6 pro mount,Atik 383L camera, motorised filter wheel and Astronomik filters.
IC410 by Chris Heapy, Macclesfield, UK. Equipment: TeleVue NP127is, Losmandy G11 equatorial mount, TV Pronto, SX Lodestar, Atik490EX.
IC410 by Chris Heapy, Macclesfield, UK. Equipment: TeleVue NP127is, Losmandy G11 equatorial mount, TV Pronto, SX Lodestar, Atik490EX.
IC410 Tadpole Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Celestron C11 Sct, Skywatcher NEQ6 pro mount,Atik 383L  camera, motorised filter wheel and Astronomik filters. F6.3 focal reducer.
IC410 Tadpole Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Celestron C11 Sct, Skywatcher NEQ6 pro mount,Atik 383L camera, motorised filter wheel and Astronomik filters. F6.3 focal reducer.
The Tadpoles Nebula by Chris Grimmer, Seething, Norfolk, UK. Equipment: William Optic GT81 Triplet, SXVR H694 Mono CCD with Baader Narrowband Filters, Ioptron CEM60 mount
The Tadpoles Nebula by Chris Grimmer, Seething, Norfolk, UK. Equipment: William Optic GT81 Triplet, SXVR H694 Mono CCD with Baader Narrowband Filters, Ioptron CEM60 mount
IC410 Tadpole Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12
IC410 Tadpole Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12" Richey-Chretien telescope, Skywatcher EQ8 mount,Atik 383L camera, Astronomik Sii, Ha, Oiii filters, Astro physics 0.67 reducer.
IC410 Tadpole Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12
IC410 Tadpole Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12" Richey-Chretien telescope, Skywatcher EQ8 mount, Atik 383L camera, Astronomik Sii, Ha, Oiii filters, Astro physics 0.67 reducer.
Nebulae of Auriga by David Slack, Prudhoe, Northumberland, UK. Equipment: Canon 1100D DSLR, SXV-H9 CCD camera, Revelation ED66 refractor, Tamron 55-200mm zoom lens, Baader 7nm Ha filter, Astronomik 12nm Ha clip filter, Astronomik CLS clip filter, HEQ5 pro mount
Nebulae of Auriga by David Slack, Prudhoe, Northumberland, UK. Equipment: Canon 1100D DSLR, SXV-H9 CCD camera, Revelation ED66 refractor, Tamron 55-200mm zoom lens, Baader 7nm Ha filter, Astronomik 12nm Ha clip filter, Astronomik CLS clip filter, HEQ5 pro mount
IC 410 by Mario Richter, Finsterwalde, Germany. Equipment: Takahashi TSA 102/816, Takahashi Reducer @ f6 612mm, Skywatcher EQ6 Sky Scan, MGEN 2, IDAS LPS D1 Filter, Canon 60d mod.
IC 410 by Mario Richter, Finsterwalde, Germany. Equipment: Takahashi TSA 102/816, Takahashi Reducer @ f6 612mm, Skywatcher EQ6 Sky Scan, MGEN 2, IDAS LPS D1 Filter, Canon 60d mod.
IC 410 by Martin Pyott, St Andrews, UK. Equipment: Lunt Engineering 80mm ED Refractor, 0.8x FF/FR, Skywatcher EQ-5, Skywatcher WI-FI Adapter (unguided), Baader Modified and cooled Canon 600D
IC 410 by Martin Pyott, St Andrews, UK. Equipment: Lunt Engineering 80mm ED Refractor, 0.8x FF/FR, Skywatcher EQ-5, Skywatcher WI-FI Adapter (unguided), Baader Modified and cooled Canon 600D
IC410 Tadpole Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12
IC410 Tadpole Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12" Richey-Chretien telescope, Skywatcher EQ8 mount, Atik 383L camera, Astronomik Sii, Ha, Oiii filters, Astro physics 0.67 reducer.
Tadpole and Flaming Star Nebulae (IC 410 & 405) by Gábor Szendrñi, Kendig, Hungary. Equipment: GPU 100/635 apochromatic refractor, Riccardi 0.75x reducer/flattener, modified Canon EOS 700D.
Tadpole and Flaming Star Nebulae (IC 410 & 405) by Gábor Szendrñi, Kendig, Hungary. Equipment: GPU 100/635 apochromatic refractor, Riccardi 0.75x reducer/flattener, modified Canon EOS 700D.
IC410 - Cosmic Tadpoles by Stewart Wilson, Enfield, N London, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher Quattro 250mm, Zwo ASI1600-MM-Cool, Chroma 3nm Narrowband Filters, 10 Micron GM-1000 HPS Mount
IC410 - Cosmic Tadpoles by Stewart Wilson, Enfield, N London, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher Quattro 250mm, Zwo ASI1600-MM-Cool, Chroma 3nm Narrowband Filters, 10 Micron GM-1000 HPS Mount
IC410 by Mario Richter, Finsterwalde, Südbrandenburg, Germany. Equipment: Takahashi TSA 102/816, Reducer Tak FS TAO 612mm, Sky Watcher EQ6, AMP Image Master, MGEN 2, Canon 60d mod, IDAS LPS D1 Filter
IC410 by Mario Richter, Finsterwalde, Südbrandenburg, Germany. Equipment: Takahashi TSA 102/816, Reducer Tak FS TAO 612mm, Sky Watcher EQ6, AMP Image Master, MGEN 2, Canon 60d mod, IDAS LPS D1 Filter
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