Western Part of the Veil Nebula

NGC 6960/74/79

The Veil Nebula is a large supernova remnant in the constellation Cygnus. The supernova which created the nebula occured between 5,000 and 8,000 years ago, and the remnant has since expanded to cover an area of approx. 3 degrees. Estimations for its distance range from 1,400 to 2,600 light years. Only the western part is imaged here. It main part is framed by the 4th magnitude star 52 Cygni, the brightest part there was designated the number 6960 in the New General Catalogue. It features a filamentary structure which is visible in medium to large telescopes and on this photograph. Europeans sometimes call it "Firebird" as it resembles a wide-winged bird seen from the front, with the bright star being the body. The other parts of the Veil nebula seen in this photograph include the "Triangle" NGC 6974 (near the top) and some fainter filaments designated NGC 6979 (upper left corner).

Two different colors can be traced within the nebula filements: Red, which is caused by ionized hydrogen, mainly the Hα line, and turquois, where the main component is double ionized oxygen, [OIII].

Veil Nebula and Surroundings, telelens photograph.
NGC 6960 and NGC 6974 - Firebird and Triangle, an enlargement of part of this photograph.

Exposure Data

Instrument: JSO 4.9" f/3.8 Wright-Newtonian
F/stop: 3.8
Exposure: 11 x 10 min + 2 x 2 min
Camera: Canon 350D with Baader UV-IR-Cut-Filter
Sensitivity: ISO 800
Date: September 29, 2006
Exposure start: 22:35 MESZ
Location: Ebenwaldhöhe, Lower Austria
Conditions: Visual limiting magnitude 6.2 mag, seeing 8/10, temperature 12.5°C, no wind, moderate humidity
Autoguider: Meade Pictor 216 XT, max. error 1" (RA) / 0" (Dec)
Enhancement: Basic data reduction, combine, background flattening, logarithmic curves, color correction, star size reduction, dynamic range extension, noise filtering, crop

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