NGC 6960: The Witchs Broom Nebula . ... Credit Copyright: T. A. Rector ( U. Alaska ), NOAO , AURA , NSF Explanation: Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history , a new light must suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. ... Pictured above is the west end of the Veil Nebula known technically as NGC 6960 but less formally as the Witch 's Broom Nebula. ... The supernova remnant lies about 1400 light-years away towards the constellation of Cygnus . ...