Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cygnus (Cyg)  ·  Contains:  IC 1340  ·  NGC 6960  ·  NGC 6979  ·  NGC 6992  ·  NGC 6995  ·  The star 49Cyg  ·  The star 52Cyg  ·  Veil Nebula
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Cygnus Loop, Andrew Lockwood
Cygnus Loop
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Cygnus Loop

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Cygnus Loop, Andrew Lockwood
Cygnus Loop
Powered byPixInsight

Cygnus Loop

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Description

Depending on your source, somewhere between 20000 and 15000 years ago a star exploded in the constellation of Cygnus. This expanding shell of disruption is nearly 3 degrees across, and covers an area 6 times the full moon.

The wisps and filaments are caused by shock heating of the interstellar dust and gas in our galaxy by the shockwave radiating away from this massive explosion - 2600 light years away.

Knwon as the Cygnus loop, or the Veil nebula it has been discovered in bits and pieces as the imaging technology has improves. Although the Eastern and Western Veil were described visually, the much fainter 'Pickering's triangle' was discovered by Williamina Fleming photographically in 1904 - but the director of Harvard is the one whose name is forever attached to it.

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Cygnus Loop, Andrew Lockwood