NGC6960 – Central Western Veil
This image shows the central-western section of the filamentary gas complex known as the Veil Nebula in the constellation Cygnus. This network of filaments is part of the remains of a supernova that exploded around 10,000 years ago. The photographed area extends through the interior of the large expanding loop, east of the star 52 Cygni and away from the western edge. The structure is dominated by intense [O III] emission at 5007 Å, responsible for the bluish colour, finely interwoven with Hα and [S II] lines visible in red. These emissions result from gas excited by the violent passage of the shock wave through the interstellar medium. This central region lies about 1,470 light-years away and forms part of a remnant that spans a vast angular area of roughly 3 degrees across the sky.
General information
- Constellation
- Cygnus
- Category
- Nebulae
- Date
- 2 July 2026
Capture
- Total time
- 7h 20min
- Subframes
- 300s (Ha: 48x, OIII: 40x) bin1
- Gain / Offset
- 125 / 30
- Calibration
- 30 flat frames, 30 dark-flat frames, 40 library dark frames, without bias frames
Equipment
- Telescope
- TS102 f/5.6
- Camera
- ASI294MM at -10ºC
- Filters
- Ha and OIII Astronomik, 6 nm
- Mount
- Sky Watcher Wave 150i
- Guiding
- PHD2, Guide scope 60mm/f4 + ASI220MM + PegasusAstro UCH + PPBMicro
- Focuser
- ZWO EAF
- Filter wheel
- ZWO EFW 7pos
Processing and environment
- Processing
- PixInsight 1.9.4
- Acquisition
- NINA
- Location
- l'Ampolla
- Sky
- Bortle 4