by Anthony Ayiomamitis
An area approximately three square degrees just to the south of ε-Cyg (mag 2.46) hosts one of the most dramatic examples of a supernova remnant. Commonly referred to as the Veil Complex due to multiple large areas of nebulosity, the area is characterized with an extended remnant to the east comprised of NGC 6992, 6995 and IC 1340; a central remnant (image above) comprised of NGC 6974, 6979 and Simeis 3-188 (Pickering's Triangle); and the western remnant surrounding 52-Cyg (mag 4.22) and catalogued as NGC 6960. Herschel was the first to discover the various nebulosities in 1825 and who treated them as independent entities and, hence, for the various NGC assignments. The Veil complex is 1400 to 2600 light-years away and spans another 50 light-years in diameter. It is very difficult to see naked eye but trivial with a modest telescope and an O-III filter which reveals tremendous filamentary detail and interwined wisps of nebulosity. It is believed that this SNR is a from a star which exploded 5000 to 8000 years ago.
Technical Details:
Date: Aug 08-09, 2010 @ 22:10 - 04:55 UT+3
Location: Athens, Greece (38.2997° N, 23.7430° E)
Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-106/f5, AP 1200GTO GEM, SBIG ST-10XME, SBIG CFW10, Baader 7nm H-α, Baader 8.5nm O-III, SBIG LRGB filters
Integrations: HaOIIIRGB @ 150:150:30:30:30 using 6-/30-min subs, 1x1 binning, 2.65"/pixel, -10.0d C
Further details are available here.