Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Auriga (Aur)
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vdB 31 up close, Charles Bracken
vdB 31 up close
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vdB 31 up close

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
vdB 31 up close, Charles Bracken
vdB 31 up close
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vdB 31 up close

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Description

I recently shot a widefield image of vdB 29 and 31, and I felt that vdB 31 deserved a closer look. It's not even so much vdB 31 that is the focus here, but the cluster of dark nebulae below it. E. E. Barnard catalogued these as B26, B27, and B28. They are really part of one contiguous molecular cloud, but Barnard could not have easily revealed that with his equipment. vdB 31 looks to me like a blue electric spark, lightning escaping from this dark cloud.

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vdB 31 up close, Charles Bracken