 |
CHAMÄLEON + ONJALA OBSERVATORY DeepSky | SITEMAP HOME CHAMÄLEON |
|
 |
|||
| « back to overview Nebula | Load higher resolution (1800 x 1200 Pixel 3500 x 2100 Pixel) | Object description |
The Veil Nebula is the perfect example of a supernova remnant and has an apparent diameter of 3 degrees in the sky. Our image shows NGC 6960 the main western main segment.
The gas ejected by the supernova explosion expands and spreads out almost spherically at about 180 kilometres per second, or nearly 600 000 kilometres per hour. In the process, it collides with the surrounding interstellar medium (shown here on the right), heating up to several million degrees and forming a structure of luminous filaments and nebulae.
Depending on the chemical elements present in the remnants of the stellar explosion, the gas is ionised and begins to glow. In the case of the Veil Nebula, the elements hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur glow in red hues and the triply ionised oxygen in blue-green/turquoise hues.
 |
The
prominent bright star near NGC 6960 - 52 Cygni -
has nothing to do with the Veil Nebula, because it is far in the foreground at
a distance of about 200 light-years. It is assigned to the spectral type G
9.5-III. According to estimates, the supernova that formed the Veil Nebula should have reached full moon brightness for a few weeks and thus should have been visible in the daytime sky. However, prehistoric observations or descriptions are not known. The brightest parts of the nebula (eastern and western regions) were discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in 1784. « Click here or the thumbnail to load a large annoted image and a size comparison to the full moon. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sun | Moon | Solar System | DeepSky | Widefield | Miscellaneous | Spec. Projects |