The Western Veil Nebula, also known as the Witch’s Broom Nebula or NGC 6960, is part of the larger Veil Nebula complex in the constellation Cygnus. It’s the wispy, delicate remnant of a massive star that exploded as a supernova roughly 10,000-20,000 years ago. What we see today are the expanding shockwaves of that explosion, glowing as they slam into and excite the surrounding interstellar gas — creating those characteristic thin, tangled filaments of light. The bright star 52 Cygni sits right along its edge, making it a handy guidepost for locating the nebula.

This is a process image from 16 different 180 second exposures.