Pickering's Triangle


       

About this image.

 Wisps like this are all that remain visible of a Milky Way star. About 7,500 years ago that star exploded in a supernova leaving the Veil Nebula, also known as the Cygnus Loop. At the time, the expanding cloud was likely as bright as a crescent Moon, remaining visible for weeks to people living at the dawn of recorded history. Today, the resulting supernova remnant has faded and is now visible only through a small telescope directed toward the constellation of Cygnus. The remaining Veil Nebula is physically huge, however, and even though it lies about 1,400 light-years distant, it covers over five times the size of the full Moon. In images of the complete Veil Nebula, studious readers should be able to identify the Pickering's Triangle component pictured above, a component named for a famous astronomer and the wisp's approximate shape.

For a close up view of the eastern portion of the Veil Nebula, click here.

   Full Res
   (14Mb)                              

Equipment

Telescope:                 Planewave 17" CDK f6.8
Mount:                      Paramount ME by Software Bisque
Instrument:               Apogee U16M, Astrodon Filters (Ha-5nm; OIII-3nm)

Exposure:                  Ha: 3.5hrs, OIII: 5hrs with synthetic luminance.
Capture Software:       CCDSOFT V5, CCDAutopilot
Processing:                Maxim DL/CCD, Photoshop CS, CCDStack, PixInsight

Home          Nebulae          Galaxies          Star Clusters          Solar System          Equipment & Observatory          Hello