This image shows Sharpless 239 (Sh2-239 or LBN 821), a reflection nebula surrounded by LDN 1551, a dark star-forming cloud of gas and dust. The region stretches for nearly 3 light-years near the southern end of the Taurus molecular cloud, a region where active star formation is taking place, some 453 light-years away in the constellation of Taurus, near the border of the constellation Perseus.
LDN 1551 contains a total amount of material equivalent to about 50 times the mass of the Sun, and inside it you will find a dozen of pre-main sequence stars. Star formation activity has caused the mix of dust and colors in the nebulae. (Ref:
http://annesastronomynews.com)
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED Telescope, ZWO AS2600mc-Pro running at -10C, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, 5 hours 6 minutes using 60 second guided exposures, darks from the library and flats at the end of imaging, focused with a ZWO EAF, controlled with a ZWO ASIAir Pro. Processed using PixInsight. Image Date: November 21, 2022. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
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