Veil Nebula (West)

Object Type: Nebula
Scope: Orion APO 80mm; Exposure 144 minutes.

This is the western portion of the Veil Nebula (NGC 6960), often called the Witch's Broom, draped across the bright foreground star 52 Cygni in Cygnus. Like the rest of the Cygnus Loop, it is the expanding shockwave of a supernova that exploded roughly 5,000 to 8,000 years ago; the remnant now spans about 3 by 3 degrees of sky. Its distance is uncertain, estimated between about 1,400 and 2,600 light-years.