NGC 6960

Common Name: Bat Nebula

Also Known as: IC 1340, Western Veil Nebula, Sharpless 103 (Sh2-103), Cygnus Loop, Cirrus Nebula, Filamentary Nebula, Caldwell 34.

Object Type: Supernova Remnant

Constellation: Cygnus

Distance from Earth: 2,400 light years

Apparent Magnitude: 7.0

Coordinates: RA 20H 45M 38S DEC 30 deg 42 min 30 sec

Actual Size: 100 light years in diameter

Apparent Dimensions: 3 degrees

Discovered by: The nebula was discovered on 5 September 1784 by William Herschel.
He described the western end of the nebula as "Extended; passes thro' 52 Cygni... near 2 degrees in length", and described the eastern end as "Branching nebulosity ... The following part divides into several streams uniting again towards the south."

Description: The Veil Nebula is a cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust.
It constitutes the visible portions of the Cygnus Loop, a supernova remnant, many portions of which have acquired their own catalogue identifiers.
The source supernova was a star 20 times more massive than the Sun which exploded between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. At the time of the explosion, the supernova would have appeared brighter than Venus in the sky, and visible in the daytime.
The remnants have since expanded to cover an area of the sky roughly 3 degrees in diameter.
Its filamentary structure is thought to be due to compression of expanding shells of gas as they meet the resistance of the interstellar medium. However, the shells are so thin that, with few exceptions, we see them only where viewed exactly edge-on.
Much of what we see as "empty" space is filled with dark dust is evidenced by the fact that more background stars are visible below the nebula than above it. This is because the shock wave has swept the area below the nebula clear of the dust, allowing more background stars to shine through.
When finely resolved, some parts of the nebula appear to be rope-like filaments.
The Veil Nebula is expanding at a velocity of about 1.5 million kilometers per hour.
The brighter segments of the nebula have the New General Catalogue designations NGC 6960, 6974, 6979, 6992, and 6995.

Click Below Image(s) for Full Size:

NGC 6960 has a relatively bright integrated magnitude of 7, but it is spread over so large an area that the surface brightness is quite low, so the nebula is difficult to see.
An observer can see the nebula clearly in a telescope using an O-III astronomical filter, as almost all light from this nebula is emitted at this wavelength. An 8-inch (200 mm) telescope equipped with an O-III filter shows the delicate lacework apparent in photographs. Smaller telescopes with an O-III filter can show the nebula as well.

The best time to view NGC 6960 is the summer months when Cygnus is high in the night sky.

Platesolve

NGC 6960 Bat Nebula

Imaging Details
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