An Integrated Flux Nebula

Integrated Flux Nebulae are quite interesting objects, as these clouds of dust are not lit by nearby stars, like a regular reflection nebula, but from the integrated light of all stars in our galaxy.

IFNs are best observed in the darker, seemingly empty parts of the sky, away from the galactical plane. This one is named LBN628 and located next to Polaris.

As IFNs are quite faint objects, they were, from an astronomical standpoint, discovered just "recently", when photographic sky surveys in the 1950's revealed several of these areas.

To image these objects and resolve the finer structures a clear and Moon-less dark night is required. From my Bortle 5 location it took me about 8 hours with fast optics to separate at least some details from the polluted background.