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> The Veil nebula, IC 1340

The Veil nebula, IC 1340

author: IAC/RGO/David Malin Images/Novapix

reference: a-snv11-00029

Image Size 300 DPI: 28 * 22 cm

The Milky Way galaxy contains many traces of ancient supernova explosions, not least of which are the heavy metals we find in the earth's crust. There are few directly visible supernova remnants but the Veil nebula in Cygnus is one of the finest. This image shows a small portion of what is a large, almost spherical glowing shell of gas, about three degrees across, the expanding remains of a star that exploded between 5,000 and 8,000 years ago. The nebula (and thus its precursor star) is about 1900 light years distant and about 100 light years across. It is the result of the shockwave from the explosion exciting the tenuous interstellar medium and making it glow. The supernova responsible for the nebula occured between 5,000 and 8,000 years ago.

 

Keywords for this photo:

ASTRONOMY - CYGNUS - CYGNUS LOOP - EVOLUTION - IC 1340 - LA PALMA - NGC 6992 - NGC 6995 - STAR - SUPERNOVA - SUPERNOVA REMNANT - VEIL NEBULA -