Telescope: Astro-Physics 160 EDF	Description: Vdb 031. Riding high in the constellation of Auriga, beautiful, blue vdB 31 is the 31st object in Sidney van den Bergh's 1966 catalog of reflection nebulae. It shares this image with dark, obscuring clouds recorded in Edward E. Barnard's 1919 catalog of dark markings in the sky. All are interstellar dust clouds, blocking the light from background stars in the case of Barnard's dark nebulae. For vdB 31, the dust preferentially reflects the bluish starlight from embedded, hot, variable star AB Aurigae. Exploring the environs of AB Aurigae with the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed the several million year young star is itself surrounded by flattened dusty disk with evidence for the ongoing formation of a planetary system. AB Aurigae is about 470 light-years away.
Mount: Astro-Physics AP1600 GTO	Constellation: Auriga
Camera: SBIG STX 16803 with Astrodon Ver. 2 Filters	Remotely Imaged With CCD Commander
Guiding:SBIG ST402 Guider	Type: Reflection Nebula
Exposure Data: LRGB, 4.5 hours ea RGB, 6 hours Luminance	Position: R.A. 04h 55m 46s Dec +30° 33' 04"
Processed using Maxim data aquisition, PixInsight and PhotoShop image processing	Date: October 2019
Data Acquisiton, Reduction and Processing by Jim Janusz	Imaging Location: Cave Creek Canyon Observatory