The Flaming Star Nebula is a bright emission and reflection nebula which lies about 1500 light years from Earth in the constellation of Auriga. It is created by the star AE Aurigae, a 6th magnitude star, which happens to be passing through this gaseous region of space. The star is so luminous and hot that it glows blue and ionises the gas that surrounds it by knocking electrons out. As these electrons are recaptured by protons they emit red light. Nearer the centre, the light from the star is reflected by clouds of carbon dust thereby giving off a bluer colour. AE Aurigae appears to be surrounded by flames, giving the nebula its evocative name.

The nebula was discovered in 1892 by the German born astronomer, John Martin Schaeberle. He emigrated to America as a child and later became one of the inaugural astronomers at the Lick Observatory. The nebula was observed by Max Wolf in 1903, who described it as ‘a burning body from which several enormous curved flames seem to break out like gigantic prominences.’ The nebula is very pretty and can easily be viewed with a telescope or even binoculars, provided the night is sufficiently clear and dark.

AE Aurigae is an O-type main sequence star. It is around seventeen times the mass of our sun and around 30,000 times more luminous. It is a runaway star and its origins have been traced back to the Trapezium at the heart of the Orion Nebula. Approximately two million years ago strong gravitational interaction flung the star out. The source of this is thought to be either two multiple star systems or a supernova in the nebula. It is travelling through space at around 200 km/s. In time AE Aurigae will move away from The Flaming Star Nebula, extinguishing the flames and changing the nature of this patch of space for ever.