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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня NGC 6992: просвет в Вуали http://variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1170954/eng |
Credit & Copyright: Steve Mandel,
Hidden Valley Observatory
Explanation:
After 5,000 years, the gorgeous
Veil
Nebula is still turning heads.
Cataloged as NGC 6992, these glowing
filaments of interstellar
shocked gas are part of a larger spherical
supernova remnant known as the
Cygnus Loop or the
Veil Nebula -- expanding debris from a star which
exploded over 5,000 years ago.
This color digital image of a
bit
of the Veil has been processed
and enhanced to reveal stunning details in the diaphanous cosmic cloud.
Seen from our perspective against a rich Milky Way star field,
the Veil Nebula is
now
known to lie some 1,400 light-years away toward the
constellation Cygnus.
At that distance,
witnesses
to the original stellar explosion would have
seen a star in the heavens
increase in brightness to about -8 magnitude, roughly corresponding to
the brightness of the crescent Moon.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.