幽灵状的面纱星云

2019 October 31

The Ghostly Veil Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Anis Abdul

Explanation: A ghostly visage on a cosmic scale, these remains of shocked, glowing gas haunt planet Earth’s sky toward the constellation of Cygnus and form the Veil Nebula. The nebula itself is a large supernova remnant, an expanding cloud born of the death explosion of a massive star. Light from the original supernova explosion likely reached Earth over 5,000 years ago. Also known as the Cygnus Loop, the Veil Nebula now spans nearly 3 degrees or about 6 times the diameter of the full Moon. That translates to over 70 light-years at its estimated distance of 1,500 light-years. In fact, the Veil is so large its brighter parts are recognized as separate nebulae, including The Witch’s Broom (NGC 6960) below and right of center. At the top left you can find the Spectre of IC 1340. Happy Halloween!

幽灵状的面纱星云
影像来源与版权：Anis Abdul

说明：这是一张宇宙尺度上幽灵般的面孔，这些被激发的炽热气体残骸出现在地球天空中天鹅座方向上，并形成了面纱星云。该星云本身是一个巨大的超新星遗迹，是一颗大质量恒星死亡爆炸后产生的膨胀云。原始超新星爆炸所产生的光可能在5000多年前就到达了地球。亦称为天鹅圈的面纱星云覆盖了将近3度或约6倍满月直径的天区。以1,500光年的估计距离来计算，这片区域超过了70光年。实际上，面纱星云如此之大，较明亮的部分被认为是单独的星云，其中包括位于影像中央右下方的女巫帚星云（NGC 6960）。你还能看到位于左上方的幽灵状星云IC 1340。万圣节快乐！