LBN 534 is a long, isolated molecular cloud located in the constellation Andromeda. Its stretched shape, along with the arrangement of young stars nearby, may have been shaped by powerful shock waves from an ancient supernova or by intense radiation from a massive star. At the southern tip of the cloud lies the blue reflection nebula vdB 158, which shines thanks to light reflected from the nearby bright star HD 222142, a B9.5V-type star.
A few bright stars in the lower right part of the LBN 534 are separated into the Aveni-Hunter 1 star open cluster. Also, several molecular clouds from LBN 534 are classified in the Planck Catalogue of Galactic Cold Clumps (PGCC). LBN 534 is about 1,400 light-years away from us.
Dark nebulae are not an easy target under my suburban sky. But in October 2025, a few nights had very good transparency, and the measured SQM was about 19.50, which is not an impressive value in general, but very good in my location 🙂 So I decided to capture that target type, which I normally avoid, and get them only when traveling to remote locations.
There are a few small objects in the frame, which become visible after enlarging the picture. The most “prominent” of these tiny things is a planetary nebula PN K 1-20 – better visible in the enlarged crop below.
Image technical data: Date: October 2025 Location: Nieborowice, Poland Telescope: TS Photoline 130/910 Corrector: TS FF/FR 0.8x Camera: QHY268M Mount: EQ6 Guiding: ASI290MM + Evoguide ED50 Exposures: LRGB 900:120:100:120 minutes Conditions: Bortle 6, transparency and seeing medium-good
