Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2023 March 1 [2]Pictured are two red nebulas on the far left and center, and a comet complete with a green coma and a long blue ion tail on the far right. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. The Flaming Star Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Thomas Röell Explanation: Is star AE Aurigae on fire? No. Even though [4]AE Aurigae is named the Flaming Star and the surrounding nebula [5]IC 405 is named the [6]Flaming Star Nebula, and even though the nebula appears to some like a swirling [7]flame, there is [8]no fire. [9]Fire, typically defined as the rapid molecular acquisition of [10]oxygen, happens only when sufficient oxygen is present and is [11]not important in such high-energy, low-oxygen environments such as stars. The bright star [12]AE Aurigae occurs near the center of the Flaming Star Nebula and is [13]so hot it glows blue, emitting light so energetic it knocks [14]electrons away from surrounding gas. When a [15]proton recaptures an electron, light is emitted, as seen in the surrounding [16]emission nebula. [17]Captured here three weeks ago, the [18]Flaming Star Nebula is visible near the composite image's center, between the red [19]Tadpole Nebula on the left and blue-tailed [20]Comet ZTF on the right. The Flaming Star Nebula lies about 1,500 [21]light years distant, spans about 5 [22]light years, and is visible with a small telescope toward the [23]constellation of [24]the Charioteer (Auriga). Tomorrow's picture: disturbing galaxies __________________________________________________________________ [25]< | [26]Archive | [27]Submissions | [28]Index | [29]Search | [30]Calendar | [31]RSS | [32]Education | [33]About APOD | [34]Discuss | [35]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [36]Robert Nemiroff ([37]MTU) & [38]Jerry Bonnell ([39]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [40]Specific rights apply. [41]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [42]ASD at [43]NASA / [44]GSFC, [45]NASA Science Activation & [46]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2303/FlamingStarComet_Roell_7504.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/pilot_astro/ 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AE_Aurigae 5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200107.html 6. https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/F/Flaming_Star_Nebula.html 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180826.html 8. https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/News-and-media/Press-Room/Reporters-Guide-to-Fire-and-NFPA/Key-Fire-Safety-Tips 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire 10. https://periodic.lanl.gov/8.shtml 11. https://media.istockphoto.com/id/509119713/photo/weimaraner-with-head-cocked.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=FMXNT4yye2_I5n5Z8ZGJZxlYnosXXw9xPcUQ1FtATdM= 12. https://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/mmg_disp.jsp?med_id=57052 13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igDZ8CMWq1k 14. https://history.aip.org/exhibits/electron/ 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/emission_nebulae.html 17. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cou3cnzs6zV/ 18. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004ApJ...616..257F/abstract 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221219.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230221.html 21. http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html 22. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/ 23. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/constellations/ 24. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auriga_(constellation) 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230328.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 34. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230301 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230302.html 36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 38. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 39. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 41. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 42. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/ 44. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 45. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 46. http://www.mtu.edu/