vdB 13 is a bluish reflection nebula cataloged in Sydney van den Bergh’s 1966 VdB Catalogue of 159 reflection nebulae.
Situated approximately 1,000 light-years away in the constellation Aries (at the northeast corner). It is part of the western edge of the Perseus Molecular Cloud.
The nebula is illuminated by the star HIP 15984, a blue star of spectral type B8. It has an apparent magnitude of approximately 8.25.
VDB 13 is surrounded by dust and a dark nebula structure. The dusty blue reflection nebula shines prominently through the darkness. It is these dark lanes that provide the contrast and thus the eerie beauty within the image.
Caldwell 14 is popularly known as the Double Cluster in Perseus. It is a pair of bright open star clusters, NGC 869 and NGC 884. They are located approximately 7,500 light-years from Earth.
Double clusters are not all that common. Thus, this pair has special recognition as being relatively young, separated by only .5 degrees and are visible to the naked eye as a hazy patch in dark skies.
For me it’s the vibrant star colors that catch my eye. There are a few very bright red giants and several yellow stars similar to our sun. The bright blue stars are the youngest within the clusters.
There are more than 300 blue-white supergiant stars in each of the clusters. The clusters are also blue-shifted. NGC 869 approaches Earth at a speed of 39 km/s. NGC 884 approaches at a similar speed of 38 km/s. Their hottest main sequence stars are of spectral type B0. NGC 884 includes five prominent red supergiant stars. All are variable and all around 8th magnitude: RS Persei, AD Persei, FZ Persei, V403 Persei, and V439 Persei.
Astrobin link for the acquisition details and an annotated version of the image.
A faint diffused Nebula in Cassiopeia. I chose it because of the dark nebula amid the apparent reflection nebula. There are 7 cataloged LDN targets in this image. These clouds of dust are so dense. They block all light behind them. This creates the subtle illusion of rivers running through the clouds. It is indeed a faint cloud of Hii gas.
Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image.
Sh2-165 is a small bright Hii emission nebula approximately 5,200 light years away in Cassiopeia. Not often imaged I find many of the Sharpless catalog items appealing. As with most Sharpless targets it is rich in Ha with little Oiii, if any.
I used APT for image acquisition and control. This photo was produced using a GSO f8 RC8 steel tube telescope at 1625mm fl. I used a ZWO ASI071MC Pro camera cooled to 15f. A Skywatcher Eq6r Pro mount supported the payload and tracked the stars.
General PixInsight processing to achieve a natural color palette included several steps. These steps included calibration, debayer, star alignment, and integration. Other processes used were gradient correction, background neutralization, and noise reduction. Finally, GHS stretch and curves were applied. 220 subframes at 300s exposures were integrated for this photo.
The SH2-263 region, aka the Strawberry Nebula, is located approximately 1,300 light years away in the Orion constellation. This region contains multiple classified objects. The most prominent are the red emission nebula SH2-263 and the blue reflection nebula vdB 38.
The central star, HD34989, is relatively young and energetic. It ionizes the hydrogen that makes up SH2-263. It illuminates the local molecular cloud to create the blue reflection nebula.
Astrobin link for acquisition details and an annotated image.
LBN 646 is a part of the Fish Head Nebula (IC 1795). It is a star-forming region about 6,000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is adjacent to the larger Heart Nebula (IC 1805).
This region is known for the bright NGC 896. It contains young, hot stars that excite the surrounding gas and cause it to glow. The bright region NGC 896 is rich with young, massive stars. These stars emit strong ultraviolet light. This ultraviolet light causes the surrounding gas to become luminous.
The entire complex of star-forming regions, including LBN 646, is about 70 light-years across.
Image acquisition was controlled by APT using an RC8 telescope with an ASI071MC camera atop an Eq6r Pro mount. The radian Ultra Quad-band filter was used in acquiring the 541 300s subs. Subs processed manually in PixInsight. In processing, I stayed true to the natural Hii color. I made a very slight enhancement in the SHO palette. This approach avoided the false blue/yellow colors. Astrobin link for acquisition details.
WR 134 is a variable Wolf-Rayet star located about 6,000 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus. This star is bright and massive. It has a radius that is five times greater than our own Sun’s radius. Its temperature is 63,000K, making it 400,000 times more luminous! It is surrounded by a faint bubble nebula formed by this star’s intense radiation and solar wind.
I imaged his target in mid-Oct 2025. 170 5 minute subs or approx. 14 hrs. Cloudy nights prevented an earlier start on this target. These few nights I was imaging post-meridian flip. I was impressed by the intensity and density of the starfield. Limited time per session. Target acquisition control using APT. Imaged with an Esprit 120ED and ASI2600MC atop an Eq6r Pro mount. Processed manually in PixInsight using a natural color palette.
Sh2-154 is a large emission nebula in the constellation Cepheus, located approximately 3,260 light-years away, within a star-forming region. It is cataloged in the Sharpless catalog. This nebula is noted for being a faint, but sizable, region of double-ionized hydrogen. It is surrounded by dust. The giant B-type star (LS III +60 28) is responsible for ionizing the nebula.
Sh2-154 is situated in the same larger star-forming complex as the more famous Cave Nebula, also known as Sh2-155. It is often pictured alongside Sh2-155 in wide-field astrophotography. The ionizing radiation from (LS III +60 28) may be compressing nearby molecular clouds. This action could potentially trigger the birth of new stars. The open cluster NGC 7419 is located close to Sh2-154. Because Sh2-154 is an emission nebula, it appears mostly red in images and is effectively captured using a hydrogen-alpha filter.
I use APT for image acquisition control and automation. The Skywatcher Esprit 120ED f7 840mm fl telescope was paired with the ZWO ASI2600MC camera. It was atop an Eq6r Pro mount. Together, they collected the 151 5 minute light frames over three nights in Sept 2025. I used PixInsight to create and process the image. Astrobin link for acquisition details.
SH2-158 is also known as the Northern Lagoon Nebula or NGC 7538. It is an active star-forming H II region in the constellation Cepheus. This nebula is located about 9,100 light-years away. It is home to massive young stars and protostars. It includes one exceptionally large O-type protostar. It is part of the Cassiopeia OB2 complex in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way.
Sh2-158 is often overlooked by amateur astrophotographers due to its proximity to the larger and more famous Bubble Nebula. However, it is a challenging and rewarding target. I was intrigued by the name alone. I have imaged the Lagoon Nebula and hadn’t heard of the Northern Lagoon Nebula. A quick search led to a few examples but not many, so I set my sights on the target.
Sh2-158 is an active star-forming region embedded within a large molecular cloud. As an emission nebula, Sh2-158 glows. However, its light is spread out over a large area. This distribution makes its surface brightness very low. Long total exposure times are needed. Often, multiple hours are required to gather enough light. These times help distinguish the nebula from the sky’s background noise. The surrounding dust clouds absorb and scatter light, further diminishing the nebula’s brightness and obscuring fine details within it. This makes revealing the nebula’s structure challenging and requires advanced processing techniques. The dust also causes reddening, altering the color balance of images and requiring careful calibration during post-processing.
I imaged it over the course of three nights in Sept 2025. I used a RC8 telescope at 1625 mm paired with an AI071MC camera atop an Eq6r Pro mount. I used a Radian Ultra Quadband filter.
Sh2-86 is a faint emission nebula in the constellation Vulpecula, located approximately 6,000 light-years from Earth. It contains the young, hot open star cluster NGC 6823. This cluster illuminates the surrounding nebula. It gives the nebula its distinctive shape.
The nebula has “pillar-like” structures. These structures are similar to “elephant trunks.” It also has Bok globules. These globules are denser regions of gas shielded from the intense radiation of the young stars.
This image consists of 81 exposures. Each exposure was 5 minutes long. They were taken from my driveway with an Esprit 120ED telescope and ZWO ASI2600MC camera. Image acquisition using APT. Image processed manually in PixInsight. Acquisition details in this astrobin link.
