Eastern Veil Nebula – NGC 6992 and NGC 6995
By Kiminori Ikebe
Lying some 1400 light years away in the constellation Cygnus is the beautiful supernova remnant known as the Veil Nebula or Cygnus Loop. When the supernova first lit up the sky thousands of years ago, it likely shone with the brilliance of a crescent moon (magnitude -8). The eastern portion of this broken circle of nebulosity is catalogued as NGC 6992 and NGC 6995. The full area of the Veil Nebula spans more than 3 degrees of the sky. In order to capture much of the eastern arm, Mr. Ikebe broke it down into the two sketches shown above.
(Source: APOD}
Mr. Ikebe’s notes about this nebula:
A magnificent view. The nebulosity in the shape of an arch in which bright and dark areas entwine in a complex manner. It is not possible to describe in words. It is difficult to draw it accurately and this sketch only shows how this nebula is perceived. The Veil Nebula is one of the most complex but clearest objects in the northern sky. The nebulosity from NGC 6992 to NGC 6995 is the brightest part of the Veil Nebula and even 10×42 binoculars reveal an arch-shaped nebulosity clearly.
(Re: NGC 6995) The complex area on the southern end of the arch in the east. The tip of the nebulosity divides into several branches looking like a human hand trying to grasp something. Off the tips of the fingers there are two faint areas, which may be IC 1340.
Equipment used: 32 cm Dobsonian at 70X
Sketch Media: Black paper, white paint (for stars), white watercolor pencil, and tissue paper. A Japanese language discussion of Mr. Ikebe’s sketching technique with photos can be found here: How to Make a Sketch. Translating the page using Google Language Tools can help with some of the text.