Sh2-241 (also known as LBN 824) is a small emission nebula located in the constellation Auriga. The nebula has a bright central core. It also has a less luminous surrounding region. This region is often described as having a “comet-like” tail. Primarily an emission nebula, though it also contains reflection components. Estimated to be approximately 15,000 to 17,000 light-years away from Earth. The gas in the nebula is ionized by the massive O-type star LS V +30 31.
The region is an active site of star formation, evidenced by high-velocity jets of gas escaping the cloud. It is categorized as a “blister” on the side of a larger molecular cloud.
vdB 65: A blue reflection nebula located just 17 arcminutes away at the top of the image. They appear close. However, they are only a line-of-sight association. vdB 65 is much closer to Earth at about 3,600 light-years.
LDN 1557: Both Sh2-241 and vdB 65 are embedded within the field of this large dark molecular cloud.
I imaged this from my driveway in western North Carolina using APT for session control and automation. I used a Skywatcher Esprit 120ED telescope. I also used a ZWO ASI2600MC camera cooled to 14f with an Antlia Quadband light pollution filter. The mount used is a Skywatcher Eq6r Pro. The 134 5 minute Subframes were calibrated, debayered, aligned, and integrated using PixInsight 1.9.3.
