In the 1960’s Beverly Lynds surveyed the night sky and published a listing of bright nebulae, which objects have since become known by their Lynds’ Bright Nebula, or LBN, catalog numbers. (She also published a list of dark nebulae, subsequently known by their LDN catalog numbers.) These were not necessarily newly discovered objects; her purpose was to compile a list of nebulae, as opposed to galaxies or star clusters or other objects. So many objects in the LBN catalog also have cross references to other catalogs, such as NGC and Sharpless.
This image captures four LBN objects (or five, depending on how you count them). From the top and going clockwise, they are:
• LBN 577: Also cataloged as Sh2-170 and known as the Little Rosette Nebula, this H2 region also plays a role as the dot in
NGC 7822, the Cosmic Question Mark.
The following are quite faint, but show up well on this long exposure:
• LBN 565: Also cataloged as Sh2-165, it glows as a result of ionization from B0 V star BD +61 +2494.
• LBN 576: Also cataloged as Abell 85 and CTB1, and known as the Popped Balloon Nebula (you can make out the "puncture" at upper left), this bubble is the remnant of a supernova that exploded about 10,000 years ago.
• LBN 592/3: The Phantom of the Opera nebula, with LDN 1282/3 as the dark eyes and mouth. The opera mask as a whole is also cataloged as Sh2-173.
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