Veil Nebula (NGC 6960, 6992, etc.)
A large, relatively faint supernova remnant in Cygnus. Its delicate filaments are best seen with a telescope and often an OIII filter.
Supernova remnant in Cygnus. Magnitude 7.0.
Can you see it from Guyana?
From Georgetown (6.8° N) it climbs to 66° above the northern horizon at its highest; from Lethem (3.4° N), to 62° above the northern horizon. It is highest at midnight on the night of 1 Aug, in the middle of its season. The page works out tonight's rise, highest point and set for both towns in Guyana time (UTC-4), and where the Moon is.
What you'll see
- Your eyes: Not visible to the eye.
- 10x50 binoculars: Only with an OIII filter held to the eyepieces, from a dark site; otherwise invisible.
- A small telescope (80 to 100 mm): With an OIII filter and low power, long thin filaments; without one it is very hard.
- A camera: Spans about 40% of an APS-C frame at 135 mm (field 9.9° × 6.6°); needs a tracking mount. An H-alpha-sensitive (modified) camera brings out its red glow.
How big, how bright, how far
- Size on the sky: 210′ × 160′, 6.8 Moons across (the Moon is about 31′ wide).
- Brightness: magnitude 7.0. Fainter than the faintest stars in Georgetown (4.3) and Lethem (6.0): binoculars or a telescope.
- Distance: 2,400 light-years. The light reaching your eye left it about 2,400 years ago.
Apparent size from OpenNGC (Mattia Verga), CC-BY-SA-4.0.
What it is made of
- Type
- Supernova Remnant
- Distance
- Approx. 2,400 Lightyears
- True size
- Approx. 110 Lightyears diameter (3 degrees on sky)
- Ionized Hydrogen (H-alpha): Red filaments
- Ionized Oxygen (OIII): Blue-green filaments
- Ionized Sulfur (SII): Deep red filaments
- Shock Fronts: Expanding shell from ancient supernova
More deep-sky objects: Crab Nebula (M1) · North America Nebula (NGC 7000) · Dumbbell Nebula (M27) · Globular Cluster M15 · Brocchi's Cluster (Coathanger) · Ring Nebula (M57)