This image shows a rich field in contellation Cepheus, about 4 ° east of Alfirk (β Cephei). It features the dark nebula Barnard 175 (or LDN 1217) - a region where dust condenses to form protostars, or so called Bok globule. The nebula is dimly illuminated by ultraviolet light, yielding a reddish glow characteristic of Extended Red Emission nebulae (EREs). Inside the nebula there is a white-blue star of the main sequence, BD + 69 1231, of magnitude 9.29, whose radiation gives the surrounding gas a distinctly bluish color. This is the reflection nebula VdB 152. The distance of the structure is estimated at about 400 parsecs (1300 light years).