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NGC6960 – Eastern section of the Western Veil

This image shows the eastern section of NGC6960 in the constellation Cygnus, part of the filamentary gas complex known as the Veil Nebula, the remains of a supernova that exploded around 10,000 years ago. The photographed area extends eastwards from the star 52 Cygni, although the star itself does not appear in the field. The structure is dominated by [O III] emission at 5007 Å, responsible for the bluish colour, and by Hα and [S II] lines visible in red. These emissions result from gas excited by the passage of the shock wave through the interstellar medium. NGC6960 lies about 1,470 light-years away and has a total angular size of approximately 70 arcminutes.

General information

Constellation
Cygnus
Category
Nebulae
Date
27 June 2025

Capture

Total time
6h 55min
Subframes
300s / (Ha: 39x + OIII: 44x) bin1
Gain / Offset
125 / 30
Calibration
30 flat frames, 30 dark-flat frames and 40 library dark frames, without bias frames

Equipment

Telescope
TS102 f/5.6
Camera
ASI294MM at -10ºC
Filters
Ha and OIII Astronomik, 6 nm
Mount
Sky Watcher Wave 150i
Guiding
PHD2, Guide scope 60mm/f4+ ASI220MM + PegasusAstro UCH + PPBMicro
Focuser
ZWO EAF
Filter wheel
ZWO EFW 7pos

Processing and environment

Processing
PixInsight 1.9.3
Acquisition
NINA
Location
l'Ampolla
Sky
Bortle 4

Additional versions

Starless versionResult after removing the dense Cygnus star field.
Eastern Veil detail
Starless Eastern Veil detailEnlarged starless crop highlighting the Hα and [O III] filaments shaped by the shock wave.
Identified objects
Post-processing workflowPost-processing workflow with PixInsight.