Wide-field view of the Western Veil Nebula & Pickering's Triangle in Ha (astrobillbinMontana)

Wide-field view of the Western Veil Nebula & Pickering's Triangle in Ha

Shown in this wide-field Ha (Hydrogen Alpha) narrowband image is the western portion of a large cloud of ionized dust and gas in the Constellation Cygnus (The Swan) known as the Cygnus Loop. Visible features include the diffuse Western Veil Nebula (NGC 6960) also known by the common names, “The Witches Broom Nebula” or “The Finger of God” along with the relatively bright 4th magnitude foreground star, 52 Cygni. Also visible here is another diffuse nebula called “Pickering’s Triangle” (NGC 6979) based on its credited discoverer and its approximate triangular shape. Actually, this latter feature was first discovered photographically in 1904 by Williamina Flemming, but the credit for its discovery went to the famous astronomer Edward Charles Pickering, the director of her observatory, as was the custom of the day.

These diffuse wispy nebulae are all that remain of a Milky Way star that exploded in a supernova about 7,500 years ago. If we were alive on the Earth back then, the exploding supernova cloud would have appeared as bright as the crescent Moon. Today this supernova remnant has faded and expanded over time and is physically huge as it now covers an area of the sky about 5 times the size of the full moon even though it lies about 1,400 light years distant from us.

If you look very closely at this image, you will note that there are fewer faint stars above these wispy remnants than below. This is due to the fact that these remnants are expanding into a dusty region of space and sweeping up interstellar material as they expand. Thus, the background sky is noticeably clearer within the Cygnus Loop than the area outside – an interesting observation pointed out by Robert Burnham, Jr. in his famous compendium, “Burnham’s Celestial Handbook, ” Volume II, page 805.

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Wide-field view of the Western Veil Nebula & Pickering's Triangle in Ha

Wide-field view of the Western Veil Nebula & Pickering's Triangle in Ha

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Wide-field view of the Western Veil Nebula & Pickering's Triangle in Ha

Wide-field view of the Western Veil Nebula & Pickering's Triangle in Ha

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