VdB 53 is a small reflection nebula visible in the constellation Orion. It is located in the southern part of the constellation, about 1 ° 45 'to the WSW from Saiph (κ Orionis), the oldest of the four bright stars that mark the figure of Orion. It is a thin filament nebula, located on the western edge of the large dark nebula LDN 1647. The star responsible for its lighting is known as BD-10 1261, whose spectral class has never been detected. The measured parallax of the star is 6.50 mas, therefore, the obtainable distance value is about 500 light-years. The nebula LDN 1647, in whose direction is vdB 53, is considered the southwestern end of the giant molecular cloud Orion A, the same that also includes the Orion Nebula and many other nebulous clouds of Orion molecular complex, one of the better observable areas of star formation in the entire sky. A highly magnified crop of VdB 53 below: