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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

The featured image shows a composite of long duration exposures of he Veil Nebula, the glowing gaseous remnants of a supernova that occurred about ten thousand years ago. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.The featured image shows a composite of long duration exposures of he Veil Nebula, the glowing gaseous remnants of a supernova that occurred about ten thousand years ago. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Supernova Remnant: The Veil Nebula

Explanation: Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history , a new light would have suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today we know this light was from a supernova, or exploding star , and record the expanding debris cloud as the Veil Nebula , a supernova remnant . Imaged with color filters featuring light emitted by sulfur (red), hydrogen (green), and oxygen (blue), this deep wide-angle view was processed to remove the stars and so better capture the impressive glowing filaments of the Veil. Also known as the Cygnus Loop , the Veil Nebula is roughly circular in shape and covers nearly 3 degrees on the sky toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). Famous nebular sections include the Bat Nebula , the Witch's Broom Nebula , and Fleming's Triangular Wisp . The complete supernova remnant lies about 1,400 light-years away.

Date June 22, 2022
Credit Image Credit & Copyright: Craig Stocks (Utah Desert Remote Observatories)
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.