Caldwell 33, The Veil Nebula
H alpha image from 2 x 10 x 5 min exposures, binned 1:1, SBIG ST10XME/AO8/ Celestron
9.25 f/4.9. Click on image for full size.
9.25 f/4.9. Click on image for full size.
Caldwell 33 or NGC6992: The grayscale image below is actually made up of two images, 50
minutes each. These glowing filaments of interstellar gas are part of a larger spherical supernova
remnant known as the Cygnus Loop or the Veil Nebula -- expanding debris from a star which
exploded over 5,000 years ago. This image only shows the eastern portion of the remnant. See
the color image below for the entire loop. The Veil Nebula is about 1,400 light-years away toward
the constellation Cygnus. At that distance the original stellar explosion would have looked like a
star of about -8 magnitude, roughly corresponding to the brightness of the crescent moon. Click
on the image below for the full size image.
minutes each. These glowing filaments of interstellar gas are part of a larger spherical supernova
remnant known as the Cygnus Loop or the Veil Nebula -- expanding debris from a star which
exploded over 5,000 years ago. This image only shows the eastern portion of the remnant. See
the color image below for the entire loop. The Veil Nebula is about 1,400 light-years away toward
the constellation Cygnus. At that distance the original stellar explosion would have looked like a
star of about -8 magnitude, roughly corresponding to the brightness of the crescent moon. Click
on the image below for the full size image.
Below is a color image of the entire Veil Nebula taken with a modified Canon XSi (20 x 3min,
ISO 1600) equipped with a 200mm lens at f/4. It is relatively rare to see both blue (oxygen)
and red (hydrogen and sulfur) in the same nebula. See this site for an interesting image that
shows the contributions of each element (http://www.rc-astro.com/photo/id1086.html) to the
colors. The grayscale image above only shows the top portion of the loop. Click on image for
full size.
ISO 1600) equipped with a 200mm lens at f/4. It is relatively rare to see both blue (oxygen)
and red (hydrogen and sulfur) in the same nebula. See this site for an interesting image that
shows the contributions of each element (http://www.rc-astro.com/photo/id1086.html) to the
colors. The grayscale image above only shows the top portion of the loop. Click on image for
full size.