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NGC 6960 is a supernova remnant. The source supernova is believed to have exploded between 5000 and 8000 years ago. It is the western part of the Veil Nebula in the constellation, Cygnus the swan. This filamentry nebula is also known as the “Witch’s Broom” due to it’s striking resemblance of such. This portion of the Veil Nebula appears to pass through the bright 4th magnitude binary star, 52 Cygni, but in actuality the nebula is behind the star; the two separated by some distance. The nebula was discovered on 1784 September 5 by William Herschel.
View high resolution image here
I took this image in early July 2014 from my home in Kitchener, Ontario. This image was taken using filters designed to isolate and collect H-alpha and Oxygen III light wavelengths. These two filters are also used in some Hubble Space Telescope images, and referred to as the “hubble pallet”. The hubble pallet is comprised of Ha, OIII and S2 (Sulphur 2) filters. The combination of these filters highlight specific processes within a nebula and also give the images their unique colour look.
Technical:
William Optics Zenithstar 71mm ED APO refractor with Flat6 .8x reducer/flattener
SBIG 8300M CCD and FLI filter wheel. Using Ha and OIII filters
Skywatcher EQ6 mount
Nebulosity for acquisition and PHD/Orion Starshoot for guiding.
80min Ha and 120min of OIII. 3hrs 20min total.
My story began more than 40 years ago looking up at the Moon with a small collapsible telescope my Father had. Encouraged by my parents, who bought me my very own telescope, a 4.5″ reflector, I began to explore the night sky from my family home backyard. Today I do astrophotography from my home in Kitchener, Ontario and also with remote telescopes located in New Mexico and Australia. Some of my images have won awards and have been featured online and in magazines.
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