VdB 65 is a reflection nebula in the constellation of Auriga. The nebula is situated in the southern part of the constellation, near the border with Gemini. VdB 65 constitutes a small portion of the large molecular cloud LDN 1557, which in its turn is part of a vast obscure molecular nebulous complex that includes other nearby clouds LDN 1550, LDN 1555 and LDN 1560. The star that illuminates the nebula has an apparent magnitude 10.63; the distance was estimated at about 1100 parsecs (3,600 light-years). The other bright object on this image (see mouseover) is the emission nebula Sh2-241. The nebula has a bright nucleus which is connected to a less bright region, to the southwest. Responsible for the gas ionization seems to be a blue star of spectral class O9V, known as LSV + 30 31. The presence of high-speed gas jets flowing from the cloud, imply that the region is the seat of massive phenomena of star formation. These jets would be driven outside by the action of massive stars placed in the deepest regions of the cloud. The distance has not been yet clearly defined: according to some studies it should be around 4700 parsecs, while others put the nebula closer, at about 4500 parsecs. In both cases, the cloud has to be in the Perseus Arm.