Van den Bergh 15, or VdB 15, is a beautiful reflection nebula found in the northern constellation Camelopardalis. It sits about 2,600 light-years away from us and is part of a much larger cloud of gas and dust that makes up the Camelopardalis OB1 association—a big, active star-forming region. The nebula gets its glow from a star called HD 21389 (also known as CE Camelopardalis). This star is a huge blue-white supergiant—way bigger and brighter than our Sun. In fact, it's around 19 times more massive and shines with about 55,000 times the Sun’s brightness! It's also a variable star, meaning its brightness changes slightly over time. Astronomers think it’s around 11 million years old and has already moved on from its hydrogen-burning phase, which means it's in the supergiant stage of its life.

     VdB 15 is mainly a reflection nebula. That means it doesn’t make its own light like an emission nebula, but instead reflects the light from nearby stars—in this case, mostly from HD 21389. The dust in the nebula scatters the starlight and gives the whole thing a bluish glow, especially in long-exposure photos. There are also faint hints of reddish colors in some areas, which come from bits of gas being gently ionized by radiation. 

     Right next to VdB 15 is another reflection nebula called VdB 14, which is lit up by another bright star named HD 21291 (also called CS Camelopardalis). Both of these nebulae are sitting in the same part of the sky and are likely part of the same massive cloud complex. They’ve probably formed in similar ways and around the same time, which makes them fun to observe as a pair.