The Phantom of Cepheus - vdB 141 (Sh2-136)

I’ve shot this target a couple of times before—it’s one of my favorites and I find it mesmerizing. The region is full of dark molecular-cloud material, and although it is listed in Steward Sharpless’s catalogue of hydrogen-emission regions, the Ghost is actually a Bok globule rather than an emission nebula. It is estimated to be 1,470 light years away in the Cepheus constellation.

Bok Globules are generally smaller, dense formations of dark gas and dust that are ideal locations for new star formation. They are named for the Dutch-American astronomer, Bart Bok, who first observed them in the 1940s.

The field is part of the Cepheus Flare molecular cloud complex. The Flare is a hotbed of star formation, young stellar objects (YSOs), emission regions, dark clouds, and even supernova remnants.

A 2005 paper studied the left “eye” of the Ghost—Bok globule CB230—and determined that it is a young stellar object (a low-mass binary star system) emitting a stream of ionized iron as it forms into a pair of stars. The red outflow has been classified as Herbig-Haro 157. Herbig-Haro objects are areas of bright nebulosity created by jets from newly formed stars.

The bright area below and to the right of the red “eye” stream is classified as both vdB 141 and also Sh2-136. While the area lacks emission material usually found in a Sharpless object, the general area does appear to be imbued with what scientists call extended red emission (ERE). ERE is thought to be the result of fluorescence rather than ionization. Ionization occurs when atoms lose electrons. Fluorescence occurs when electrons in an atom shift from one energy state to another.

The bright area in the center of vdB 141 is indeed a reflection region—consistent with the criteria for being part of Sidney van den Bergh’s (vdB) catalogue. The illumination is the result of reflecting the light of several stars embedded in the nebula.