Telescope: Astro-Physics 160 EDF	Description:In Auriga, blue vdB 31 is the 31st object in Sidney van den Bergh's 1966 catalog of reflection nebulae. It shares locations with dark, obscuring clouds B26, 27, 28 recorded in E. E. Barnard's 1919 catalog of dark nebula. All are interstellar dust clouds, blocking the light from background stars. For vdB 31, the dust preferentially reflects the bluish starlight from embedded, variable star AB Aurigae. Exploring the area of AB Aurigae with the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed the young star is itself is surrounded by a flattened dusty disk, indicating the ongoing formation of a planetary system. AB 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: 3 hours each LRGB.	Position: R.A. 04h 57m 00s Dec +30° 34' 22"
Processed using Maxim data aquisition, PixInsight and PhotoShop image processing	Date: February 2021
Data Acquisiton, Reduction and Processing by Jim Janusz	Imaging Location: Cave Creek Canyon Observatory