Along the Western
Veil
From
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
Delicate in appearance,
these filaments of shocked, glowing gas, draped in planet Earth's sky toward
the constellation of Cygnus, make up the western part of the Veil Nebula.
The Veil Nebula itself
is a large supernova remnant, an expanding cloud born of the death explosion
of a massive star. Light from the original supernova explosion likely reached
Earth over 5,000 years ago.
Blasted out in the
cataclysmic event, the interstellar shock wave plows through space sweeping up
and exciting interstellar material.
The glowing filaments
are really more like long ripples in a sheet seen almost edge on, remarkably
well separated into atomic hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue-green) gas.
Also known as the Cygnus
Loop, the Veil Nebula now spans nearly 3 degrees or about 6
times the diameter of the full Moon. While that translates to over 70
light-years at its estimated distance of 1,500 light-years, this wide image of
the western portion spans about half that distance.
Brighter parts of the
western Veil are recognized as separate nebulae, including The Witch's Broom (NGC 6960) along the top of this view and Pickering's Triangle (NGC 6979) below and right of center.
