Cave Nebula

This rich region in the constellation of Cepheus the king has been called the Cave Nebula and given the catalog designation of Caldwell 9. It’s a collection of emission, reflection and dark nebulosity along with an abundance of stars. Variation in the density of stars across the field traces the absorption of light by interstellar matter. Notice the two small sinuous coils of dark nebulosity on the left silhouetted against the brighter background. The image is a 5½ hour exposure taken over two nights with a 5 inch telescope from Eustis Ridge.