Sitting in an unsuspecting pocket of the Cepheus Molecular Cloud some 2400 light years away we find the Cave Nebula & environs. Despite a name I rather dislike, this region has always been one of my favorites. An emission region, it houses singly-ionized hydrogen which produces a beautiful red glow.

The pocket of absorption around it is designated LDN 1216. As with most of Lynd's great finds, little is written. Despite this, the nebula is mentioned in a few places in the astronomical literature. A particularly interesting paper was by Kerton and Brunt from 2003, exploring carbon monoxide in the outer galaxy through infrared astronomy. I found it quite fascinating how several regions of dark nebula almost looked like ghosts. Inside the ghost to the lower right we see a shy little region of blue reflection called VdB 155.

This image is not my proudest work. My old computer could not handle StarTools 1.7, even when fully GPU-accelerated, to do the things I wanted done on this image. It is my first image with tools such as the super structure module. Plus, I was out of practice. And my scope has been ignored for quite some time... I hope to work out the kinks and deliver much improved content come summer. My new PC is fantastic compared to ye olde clunker, and I'm sure my old expertise will come back in due time. If anyone has suggestions for targets they would like to see, please do send a message or leave a comment. My latitude is +38. From mid June to mid August I should be able to fully devote myself to imaging, and will likely even use full moon nights for some small errand-running I have had in the works on my to-do list for a while.

Now, on a more personal note, let's address the several elephants scattered in cherry trees. If you didn't see them, don't be ashamed. Elephants paint their toenails red & disappear like magic; it's quite a sight.

I don't want to bore anyone with backstory, and besides, I addressed it in my forum post which can be found here! The simple truth of the matter is that, after years of struggle and introspection, I have come to the realization that I am transgender. My name is Lilith, pronouns she/her/hers.

I just want to say that I appreciate the community here on AstroBin. Despite a relative lack of activity from me over the past year, this is a place I truly feel I can call home. And that means a lot.

Wishing everyone clear skies,

Lily