The emission nebula IC 405, also known as also Caldwell 31 and the "Flaming Star Nebula", is located near (and illuminated by) the variable star AE Aurigae. It is visible in - but a challenging object for - small telescopes.
The Flaming Star Nebula is an emission/reflection nebula, and is located near the emission nebula IC 410, the open cluster M38, and the naked-eye K-class star Hassaleh. The nebula measures approximately 37.0' x 19.0'.
IC 405 lies about 1,500 light-years away, and is about 5 light-years across.
The proper motion of the illuminating star, AE Aurigae, can be traced back to the area of Orion's Belt. AE Aurigae's story is linked to another star, Mu Columbae. Around 2.7 million years ago, these two stars had a close encounter with one another in the Great Orion Nebula. The encounter was so close that both were ejected from the Orion complex.
Currently these stars are 66 degrees away from each other in the sky. But AE Auriga is certainly the more glamorous of the pair, since it just happens to be moving through a region of gas as and dust that makes it look like a "Flaming Star."