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.
And don't forget to send us your images or share them with us via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Pictures of the Tadpole Nebula
Our pick of the best images of the Tadpole Nebula captured by readers of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
The Tadpole Nebula
Hannah Rochford, Bruton, Somerset, 20–28 March 2022
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM camera, Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount
IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula
Greg Meyer, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, 12-15 November 2023
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro mono CMOS camera, Radian Raptor 61 triplet apo refractor, ZWO AM5 mount
Flaming Star and Tadpole Nebulae
Tom Wildoner, Pennsylvania, USA, 25 November 2019
Equipment: ZWO ASI071MC-Pro colour camera, William Optics RedCat 51 apo refractor, Celestron CGEM DX mount
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.
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
IC410 and Flaming Star Nebulas by Chris Heapy, Macclesfield, UK. Equipment: Televue NP127is, Moravian G4-16000, Chroma 3nM Ha, OIII and SII, 10-Micron GM2000HPS-II
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" Richey-Chretien telescope, Skywatcher EQ8 mount,Atik 383L camera, Astronomik Sii, Ha, Oiii filters, Astro physics 0.67 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
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 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: GSO 8" Richey-Chretien Optical tube, Skywatcher NEQ6 pro mount,Atik 383L camera, motorised filter wheel and Astronomik 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
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 by Roger B, Whitstable, UK. Equipment: GSO 8" f4 Astrograph, EQ6 via EQMod, SXVH9, Baader 7nm Ha filter, Ts9mm OAG
Tadpole Nebula by Andy Jensen, Battisford, Suffolk, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher 120mm ED Refactor, Atik 383l CCD, 7nm Ha Filter, NEQ 6 Mount
