Sh2-136 is a reflection nebula also known as The Ghosts of Cepheus because parts of the nebula resemble translucent ghosts rising out of the dust cloud. Also of interest is the brighter V-shaped projection at the right end of the dust cloud. This is part of a bipolar outflow that is being ejected at right angles to the spinning accretion disk of a protostar forming within the nebula. Light from the protostar can be seen at the vertex of the V and the opposite bipolar outflow coming out the far side of the cloud can just be seen as a projection behind the yellow star. The nebula spans about 2.5 light-years and lies about 2,500 light-years from Earth. The ghosts are incredibly faint, barely brighter than the background sky in Portland, so this image required more than a day of total exposure to make them visible.

Telescope: Celestron Compustar C14, SBIG AO-L adaptive optics at 8 Hz.

Exposures: L:R:G:B =910:220:220:220 =26 hours 15 minutes total exposure at f/7.2. This image was published in the October, 2019 issue of Astronomy Magazine.