The Veil Nebula, a delicate and complex structure of glowing gas and dust, lies in the constellation Cygnus, about 2,400 light-years from Earth. This nebula is the remnants of a massive star's explosive death approximately 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. The supernova that caused the Veil Nebula originated from a star roughly 20 times the mass of the Sun. At the time of its explosion, it would have been a brilliant celestial event, outshining even Venus and likely visible during the daytime.Spanning about 130 light-years in diameter, equivalent to six times the apparent diameter of the full moon in the night sky. This massive cloud of ionized gas glows with intricate filaments that crisscross the sky, giving it a distinctive appearance. This image is the first light of the imaging season of 2024, displaying the Western Veil Nebula in all of it’s glory in this 2 panel mosaic with a total integration time of over 50 hours. Going this deep into the relatively bright subject reveals plenty of intricate details often overlooked in images of the same region of space.
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