NGC 6992 — The Eastern Veil Nebula
Captured with: Seestar S50 Smart Telescope
Distance: ~2,400 light-years
Constellation: Cygnus
Type: Supernova Remnant (Part of the Cygnus Loop)
Apparent Size: ~70 arcminutes
NGC 6992 forms part of the shattered remains of a massive star that exploded between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. What we see today is a luminous filament of the Cygnus Loop — a vast shell of gas expanding through space at hundreds of kilometers per second, sweeping up interstellar material as it goes.
Through the Seestar S50, the Eastern Veil appears as an intricate web of glowing threads — crimson from ionized hydrogen, blue-green from doubly ionized oxygen. Each filament marks a shock front, where the supernova’s blast wave collides with cooler gas, heating it into fluorescence. The resulting tapestry of color and light is both delicate and violent, a cosmic scar still healing after stellar death.
The Veil Nebula is a testament to the cyclical nature of the universe: the death of one star seeding the birth of countless others. What was once destruction now drifts as beauty — a radiant echo of an ancient cataclysm painted across the night.
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