Photographer: Kevin Boucher

This is an 11 x 14″ picture with a fiberboard backing. No frame or hanger included.

The Veil Nebula is a cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust. This nebula was created when a star exploded into a supernova around 3,000 BC. The gas cloud has been expanding a little bit every year for the last 5,000+ years. Because this supernova remnant covers a large portion of the sky the picture only covers a piece of the western section of this nebula. Although just a segment, this segment still spans approximately 35 light years. The nebula is located approximately 1,470 light years away. The bright star in this picture is not actually near the nebula but is a foreground star called 52 Cygni. Also, the star is a lot closer to earth at a distance of around 200 light years and a member of a triple star system. The other stars in system are smaller and too close to 52 Cygni to be seen in this picture.