Pickering's Triangle and The Cygnus Loop.

 

Pickering's Triangle and the Witches Broom Nebula. Seestar S30 EQ mode. Cropped selection from a 60 minute stack of 60 second light frames.

"Part of the Veil Nebula in Cygnus and the remnants from a supernova.  One of the joys of the Northern Hemisphere's summer and early autumn skies " - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory in Lowestoft, Suffolk, UK.

The Cygnus Loop: Scientific Description

By G.Gemini Coms Manager at the JPO.

The Western Veil Nebula & Pickering’s Triangle (Cygnus Loop)

This wide-field capture features two prominent components of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant: NGC 6960 (the Western Veil, or Witch’s Broom) and Pickering’s Triangle (Simeis 3-188). Located approximately 2,400 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, these intricate filaments trace the expanding shockwave of a core-collapse supernova that shattered a massive star roughly 10,000 to 20,000 years ago.

Arcing across the upper section, the Witch’s Broom forms a sharp, delicate shock front visually anchored by the bright foreground star 52 Cygni (mag 4.2). The ribbon displays strong colour separation created by distinct atomic transitions: rich magenta-red hues from ionized hydrogen (H alpha emission at 656.3 nm) complemented by subtle cyan filaments corresponding to doubly ionized oxygen ([O III] emission at 500.7 nm), where supersonic shocks heat the interstellar medium. Across the lower frame, Pickering's Triangle unfolds into a intricate web of braided gas threads, showcasing diffuse hydrogen emission interlaced with faint ionization boundaries.

Acquisition & Processing Details:

• Telescope/Camera: ZWO Seestar S50 (Equatorial Mode)

• Integration: 60 × 60s exposure lights (1 hour total integration)

• Gradient Correction: GraXpert

• Star Separation: StarNet GUI

• Post-Processing & Composition: Affinity Photo 2

NGC 6960 - The Western Veil Nebula

NGC 6960 The Western Veil Nebula COAST Robotic Telescope - Open University - telescope.org -SHO filters (Sulphur Hydrogen Oxygen) - 3rd August 2019. - Pip Stakkert.

" The Veil Nebula, located in the constellation Cygnus, is an interesting telescopic target. The veil nebula or NGC 6960  is the shock wave from a supernova which occurred some 10,000 years ago. This shock wave is ploughing through the interstellar medium. Ionised hydrogen and oxygen can be seen glowing green and blue respectively in the above image. Red indicates the presence of ionised sulphur. The bright star is 52 Cygni and although it appears linked to the nebula it has nothing to do with the original supernova"  - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.