Van den Bergh 24 is a variable reflection nebula around XY Per

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of optical variability in the reflection nebula vdB 24 around XY Per, showing that the star's brightness changes affect the nebula's illumination on a timescale of days.

Contribution

It is the first to document short-term optical variability in vdB 24 and link it to the brightness changes of XY Per.

Findings

vdB 24 exhibits optical variability on a few-day timescale

The brightness of XY Per influences the nebula's illumination

The variability suggests dynamic interactions between the star and nebula

Abstract

We report the discovery of optical variability in vdB 24 on timescales of a few days. This reflection nebula surrounds the Herbig Ae/Be star XY Per, whose changing brightness appears to influence the nebular illumination.