vdB152
Reflection Nebula in Cepheus
About
A faint blue reflection nebula in Cepheus, also called Ced 201 or the Wolf's Cave Nebula, about 1,400 light-years away. The bright star lighting it moves very differently from the cloud around it, so it probably wandered in rather than formed there.
Imaging tips
- Small at about 7′: it needs a long focal length and fine pixel scale rather than a wide field.
- Shoot broadband without a light-pollution or dual-narrowband filter, which block the starlight this nebula reflects.
- Very faint signal: one imager got a clear result from about 8 hours of 3-minute subs from a dark site, and noted a new moon is needed.
- The dark nebula Barnard 175 trails from it, so a wider lens shows the dust lane too.
- Best placed in August and September.
Facts
- Size
- 7′
- Magnitude
- —
- Coordinates
- RA 22h 13.4m, Dec +70° 15′
- Framing, APS-C
- 3460–5770 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Aug, Sep
- Peak altitude
- 70° from 50°N, 55° from 35°N