IC405 Flaming star nebula with AE Aurigae

Last night I photographed the IC405 Flaming star nebula. It was the 1st real test of the observatory after commissioning/finetuning of the new NEQ6 mount. IC405 is an emission/reflection nebula. The variable star AE Aurigae lits up this nebula that is standing approx. 1600 lightyears from us. It is thought that AE Aurigae originated from the Orion star cloud (source: Burnhams' celestial handbook).
This picture was taken with my 200mmF5 Newtonian with Eos400d in prime focus on the NEQ6 mount. It is a combination of 7x20min@ISO800 autoguided totalling 2hrs20min of exposure.
I'm quite happy with the result. I conclude that the observatory is fully operational now. Next step: narrowband Halpha photography and a more sensitive CCD camera.

Here's a more detailed view of the nebula. The blue parts are dust particles and the red parts are gaseous filaments. I am impressed by the guiding accuracy of this NEQ6. Very fine and sharp details. That was what we were looking for when we upgraded from the HEQ5pro to the NEQ6 mount. For more information, see the detailed topic on http://www.astroforum.nl/threads/128938-IC405-Flaming-star-nebula-met-AE-Aurigae

Yess, I received my golden Messier certificate

For successfully observing and logging all 110 Messier deepsky objects on www.deepskylog.be I received my golden certificate and a nice t-shirt. 2 years of hard work paid off.