The Western Veil (NGC 6960)
Characteristics:
Magnitude: ? (but fainter than the Eastern Veil, which is
roughly magnitude 5.0)
Size: 70'
Distance: 2600 light years
RA: 20h 45m 42s
Dec: 30 degrees 43' 00"
Description:
The Western Veil is a supernova remnant that is part of a larger
complex that includes the Eastern Veil (NGC 6992). It is
estimated that the supernova explosion occured about 10,000 years ago,
before the age
of recorded history. The star that gave rise to this supernova
remnant
is no longer visible, but it must have been massive (supernovas
generally
result from stars that are greater than 1.4 times the mass of our sun).
52
Cygnus is the bright star seen in the center of the field and is not
related
to the formation of the Veil. During a star's life, nuclear
fusion
produces elements such as oxygen, silicon, carbon, and iron.
These
elements are expelled into space during supernova explosions, later to
become
part of other stars, planets, and lifeforms like ourselves. The
Western
veil is relatively rich in oxygen, which is excited by radiation from
nearby
stars, resulting in emission in the blue green spectrum (OIII).
There
is a component of red light from excited hydrogen gas as well.
The
Veil complex is a stunning view in large aperture scopes, especially
with
the use of an OIII filter.
Photographic Details:
Date: September 6, 2003
Scope: LX90 at f6.5, Lumicon OAG
Autoguider: SBIG STV with e-finder
Camera: Canon 10D
Filter: IDAS LPS
Exposures: Left side: 4 x 7' each; Center: 3 x 7' each; Right
side: 4 x 7' each, all at ISO1600.
Conditions: Temperature
68 degress F; average transparency; average seeing; wind minimal.
Post-processing: Raw conversion,
adaptive dark frame subtraction, min/max excluded averaging, and
background compensation done in ImagesPlus; alignment done in Registar;
levels and
curves adjustment in Photoshop, with selective noise reduction of the
red
channel done in Pleiades SGBNR software. This represents a mosaic
in which three sections (left, center, and right) were processed first,
and
then combined as a last step, following the technique outlined by Rob Gendler on this
website.
Please
note: Graphics on this website
may not be reproduced without author permission.
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