Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cygnus (Cyg)  ·  Contains:  52 Cyg  ·  Filamentary nebula  ·  Lace-work nebula  ·  NGC 6960  ·  The star 52Cyg  ·  Veil nebula
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NGC 6960 - 2019, Gary Imm
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NGC 6960 - 2019

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
NGC 6960 - 2019, Gary Imm
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 6960 - 2019

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Description

This object is a supernova remnant located 1500 light years away in the constellation of Cygnus. Since this object is the western remnant of the Veil Nebula, the second most popular SNR in the right sky after the Crab Nebula, it is nicknamed the Western Veil. A spectacular object such as this one naturally has other nicknames as well, including the Witch's Broom, the Finger of God, the Lacework Nebula, and the Filamentary Nebula.

Scientists estimate that 8,000 years ago, a bright new light suddenly appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. This was light from a supernova and what you see in this image is the still expanding debris cloud from the shock wave. The expanding debris cloud gains its colors by sweeping up and exciting existing nearby gas, primarily hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue-green) gas.

This field of view is about twice the width of the full moon and spans 35 light years. The bright star in the image, 52 Cygni, can be seen in the sky with the naked eye. It looks to be part of the shock wave but is actually unrelated to the ancient supernova remnant.

This is one of the few fields I have captured where I cannot find the presence of a single galaxy.

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