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The Cygnus Loop, also known as the Veil
Nebula, is a product of a supernova explosion that occurred 5,000-10,000
years ago. The Cygnus explosion has collided with very dense interstellar
gas. This drives shock waves through the Cygnus cloud, ionizing and heating
the gas and causing it to glow. It is known as the Veil Nebula because
of the filamentary structure of the expanding gas. The Cygnus Loop is
1,500 light years away in the constellation Cygnus the Swan and covers
several degrees of the sky. The image shown is a small portion of a larger
structure.
(Courtesy of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope).
References:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960307.html
http://nineplanets.org/twn/cygnusx.html
http://nineplanets.org/twn/types.html#snr
Object |
Distance from Earth |
Wavelength |
Cygnus Loop |
1,5000 light
years
|
Optical |
