From the December 2013 issue

Imaging the sky’s spooky reflection nebulae

Thomas V. Davis has made a project of capturing the objects in the van den Bergh catalog.
By | Published: December 30, 2013 | Last updated on May 18, 2023
van den Bergh 139
The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023) also carries the designation van den Bergh 139. This beautiful flower-like cloud of gas and dust lies in Cepheus.
Thomas V. Davis
In the February 2014 issue, dedicated astroimager Thomas V. Davis introduced readers to his world of astrophotography. His biggest current project is imaging the 159-object van den Bergh catalog of reflection nebulae in its entirety. Some, such as the Iris Nebula, are objects commonly shot by other imagers; others, however, often go overlooked. In a recent story, “Explore the sky’s spooky reflection nebulae,” Davis explained what to expect from the catalog, suggested how best to go about observing it, and shared some of the results from his imaging efforts (you can see exactly how far he’s gotten by visiting his website.)
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