Both of these objects are complex combinations of emission and
reflection nebulae, with clusters of newborn stars at their hearts.
NGC 1931 is the object on the left of this image, and it has often
been described as a smaller version of the Orion Nebula; it even has a
tight grouping of 4 stars in a trapezoidal pattern at its bright center,
just as the Orion Nebula does. IC 417 is the larger object on the right
of the image, with long lanes of glowing hydrogen extending from the bright
core of the nebula. Some have called this pair "the spider and the fly",
which seems to work quite well. These objects are about 10,000 light years
from earth, and found about 1 degree west of M 36 in the constellation Auriga.

Image data:
Camera: Canon 350 XT (modified)
Exposure: ISO 800, 5 minutes x 34
Telescope: 10" Schmidt-Newtonian, MPCC