Sardaukar on the Move – vdB 137 (IC 5076)

A blue reflection nebula in Cygnus approximately 5,700 light years distant, vdB 137 is surrounded by red ionized hydrogen gas. The form and shading look ominously like a heavily armed soldier-fanatic coming toward the camera, shining a light—or perhaps pointing a lasgun—at it.

The illuminating source is a blue supergiant star catalogued as HD 199478. It’s also catalogued as a pulsating variable star (V2140 Cygni). That means it changes brightness slightly on a regular basis.