This 2 panels mosaic was taken during the nights of 12, 20 and 21 September 2022 from my Bortle 7 backyard in Vienna. More data was available for the eastern side of the nebula, that made the mosaic difficult to compose. I got this time a better result by assembling the mosaic in nonlinear phase, contrary to my previous experiences.

Although an extremely popular target, I could not resist to portray it and know it better. It is difficult to figure out the huge energies involved in the supernova explosion, and the Cygnus Loop offers a plastic view of it.

The Cygnus Loop Sh2-103 is a large supernova remnant (SNR) in the constellation Cygnus, an emission nebula measuring nearly 3° across. Some arcs of the loop, known collectively as the Veil Nebula or Cirrus Nebula, emit in the visible electromagnetic range.  Radio, infrared, and X-ray images reveal the complete loop.

The most recent estimates place the object at 2400 light years, therefore it is 120 light years in diameter, and has an age of around 20,000 years.

The visual portion of the Cygnus Loop is known as the Veil Nebula, also called the Cirrus Nebula or the Filamentary Nebula. Several components have separate names and identifiers, including the "Western Veil" or "Witch's Broom", the "Eastern Veil", and Pickering's Triangle.

The most recent estimates place the object at 2400 ly, therefore it is 120 ly in diameter, and has an age of around 20,000 years.

Despite many searches, no compact stellar remnant had been yet confidently identified since the identification of the supernova remnant. A detailed 2012 study of the blowout region identified a possible pulsar wind nebula, as well as a point-like source within it.  Whether the feature is a pulsar wind nebula, and if so whether it is related to the Cygnus Loop, is still unknown for certain.
(Details excerpted from Wikipedia)

There are many identification tags associated with Cygnus Loop, here below a nice summary picture.


This GALEX image of the Cygnus Loop nebula could not have been taken from the surface of the Earth because the ozone layer blocks the ultra-violet radiation emitted by the nebula. Source: Wikipedia, NASA, Copyright CC0