Network Nebula (Veil East)

Object Type: Nebula
Top image - AP 5" Refractor, 4-panel mosaic (60 min each); Bottom image - Orion APO 80mm, 160 min.

This is the eastern portion of the Veil Nebula, known as the Network Nebula (NGC 6992/6995, radio source W78, Sharpless 103). It is part of the Cygnus Loop, the faint, lacy remnant of a star that exploded some 5,000 to 8,000 years ago. The whole loop spans about 3 by 3 degrees of sky, roughly 36 times the area of the full Moon. Distance estimates range from about 1,400 to 2,600 light-years. William Herschel discovered parts of the Veil in 1784.