Western Veil Nebula

 

NGC 6960 is a part of a supernova remnant that is the shattered remains of one, and possibly two, supernovae that exploded more than 15,000 years ago at a distance of 2,500 light-years from Earth. At the time of the explosion it would have been seen as a very bright star rivaling the crescent Moon. The bright star near the center of the image, known as 52 Cygni, is much closer to earth (206 light years) and is not associated with the Veil Nebula.

Parts of the nebula appear to be rope-like filaments. This is because the shock waves expanding from the supernova explosion are so thin that the shell is visible only when viewed exactly edge-on, giving the shell the appearance of filaments. Undulations in the surface of the shell lead to multiple filamentary images, which appear to be intertwined.

Even though the nebula is relatively bright, it is spread over so large an area that the surface brightness is quite low, so the nebula is notorious among astronomers as being difficult to see visually. However, an observer can see the nebula clearly in a telescope using an OIII filter (a filter isolating the wavelength of light from doubly ionized oxygen). Kopernik Observatory's telescopes, when equipped with an OIII filter, show the delicate lacework apparent in image above.

(Credits to SEDS - Students for the Exploration and Development of Space)

Observer´s Log

Object name: NGC 6960
Magnitude: 30,0
Size: 70,0 x 70,0
Object type: Nebula
Source catalog: Revised NGC
Blue mag: 7.0
Constellation: CYG
Remarks: Veil nebula
Dreyer description : Very remarkable! Pretty bright, considerably large, extremely irregular figure, 52 Cyg involved.
Catalog number: 6960
Celestial type: 14
NGC/IC: 0

Number of Frames: 8

Exposure:  600s ISO 800

Equipment: Takahashi FS-102NS, f/8, Canon EOS300D camera in prime focus

Date: 05-10-24

Reduced, aligned and stacked with ImagesPlus; final processing with Photoshop CS