The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023) also carries the designation van den Bergh (vdB) 139. This beautiful, flower-like cloud of gas and dust sits in Cepheus. Credit: Thomas V. Davis.
In the January 2009 issue of Astronomy, Thomas V. Davis wrote about the van den Bergh catalog of reflection nebulae. Here is a list of all 158 objects Canadian astronomer Sidney van den Bergh cataloged.
Visually, you can expect to see the nebulae van den Bergh classified as VBR (very bright), BR (bright), and M (moderate). Those with other surface brightnesses will challenge even the largest telescopes.
These objects make great targets for astroimagers, however. CCD cameras coupled to medium-sized telescopes can capture most of them, albeit with long exposure times. If you successfully image any of these objects, send high-resolution copies to readergallery@Astronomy.com.
