NGC 6995：蝙蝠星云

2019 November 25

NGC 6995: The Bat Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Josep Drudis

Explanation: Do you see the bat? It haunts this cosmic close-up of the eastern Veil Nebula. The Veil Nebula itself is a large supernova remnant, the expanding debris cloud from the death explosion of a massive star. While the Veil is roughly circular in shape and covers nearly 3 degrees on the sky toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus), the Bat Nebula, NGC 6995, spans only 1/2 degree, about the apparent size of the Moon. That translates to 12 light-years at the Veil’s estimated distance, a reassuring 1,400 light-years from planet Earth. In the composite of image data recorded through broad and narrow band filters, emission from hydrogen atoms in the remnant is shown in red with strong emission from oxygen and nitrogen atoms shown in hues of blue. Of course, in the western part of the Veil lies another seasonal apparition: the Witch’s Broom Nebula.

NGC 6995：蝙蝠星云
影像提供与版权: Josep Drudis

说明: 你有看到蝙蝠吗？它就在这幅东面纱星云的特写影像里出没。面纱星云则是个大型的超新星遗迹，是一颗大质量恒星发生死亡爆炸时，所抛出的扩张碎片云。几近环状的面纱星云，涵盖天鹅座方向约3度的天空，不过编录号为NGC 6995的蝙蝠星云，跨幅只有半度，和满月的​​视大小相当。以面纱星云离地球1,400光年的精确距离来换算，影像涵盖这团星云约12光年的范围。在这幅结合宽和窄滤镜数据的组合影像里，来自遗迹内氢原子的辐射以红色来呈现，而氧和氮原子的强辐射线则以蓝色渐层来显示。在面纱星云的西侧，还有另一个会让人联想起万圣节的女巫帚星云。