vdB 14 and vdB 15 - wonderfuluniverse.de

vdB 14 and vdB 15 from my Jade Observatory

In 2025, I captured deep images of vdB 14 and vdB 15 from my Jade Observatory. These two objects are part of the van den Bergh (vdB) catalog of reflection nebulae and are located in the constellation Perseus, embedded within the rich star fields and dust structures of the Milky Way.

Scientifically, vdB 14 and vdB 15 are classic reflection nebulae, illuminated by nearby hot stars whose light is scattered by interstellar dust. Unlike emission nebulae, their glow is not produced by ionized gas but by the reflection of starlight, which often gives them a characteristic bluish appearance. They are associated with the larger Perseus molecular cloud complex, a well-known region of ongoing star formation located roughly 1,000–1,300 light-years away. Deep imaging reveals delicate dust filaments, subtle brightness gradients, and the complex interplay between illuminated and obscured regions, offering insight into the structure of the interstellar medium and the early stages of stellar evolution.

Data calibration, registration and the final processing was done with PixInsight. The result was as follows: