The Veil Nebula is the remnant of a supernova that exploded around 6,000 to 8,000 years ago. It is about 1,600 light years away in the constellation Cygnus. This is NGC6960, the western portion of the nebula, also called the Witch's Broom. North is toward the lower-right.
The bright star is 52 Cygni which, at only 291 light years distant, is much closer than the nebula.
The eastern portion of the Veil, NGC6992, can be seen here, and the central portion, NGC6979, is here. Click here to see all three parts as they are relative to one another.
Click the blue button to see a variation of this image with the camera rotated 110° to show the "broom" pointing upward.
| Exposure |
• 10⅓ hours (77 x 8 min.) @ -10°C over 4 nights • Dusk flats • Camera position angle: 287° |
| Processing |
• With PixInsight: ☞ Calibration and star registeraton ☞ Subframe integration ☞ Histogram transformation ☞ Background neutralization ☞ Shrink stars • Final tweaking in Photoshop CS6 |
| Date and Location |
• 2020: July 15, 18, 19, 26 • Louisa County, Virginia, USA |
|
Equipment |
• TMB-130SS APO refractor @ f/7 on an A-P 1200 mount • ZWO ASI-1600MC Pro color camera • Guided with an ST-402 camera on a 60mm f/5 scope • Imaging and autoguiding with MaxIm DL 6.20 • Automated image acquisition with ACP Observatory Control |
Updated May 23, 2023